US investigating near-crash of jets at New York JFK




NEW YORK CITY, New York: In a statement, the US Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate an incident involving a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 that came to a safe stop on the John F. Kennedy International Airport runway as another passenger jet crossed in front of it.

Brian Healy, a passenger on the Delta flight, said at first he thought the abrupt stop was a mechanical issue, stating, "There was this abrupt jerk of the plane, and everyone was sort of thrust forward from the waist," as reported ny Reuters.

John Cox, retired pilot and professor of aviation safety at the University of Southern California, said the controller "made a good call to reject the takeoff."

The aborted takeoff safety maneuver, which is when pilots stop the aircraft and discontinue a takeoff, is a procedure pilots are "very, very familiar with, and pilots practice rejected takeoff almost every time they get to the simulator," he added, according to Reuters.

The FAA statement said that the Delta plane stopped about 1,000 feet from where the American Airlines plane had crossed from an adjacent taxiway.

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board also said it was looking into the incident.

American Airlines has not commented on the incident and said it would defer all questions to the FAA.

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