Boston-bound flight slams on brakes at Reagan National Airport to avoid runway collision
WASHINGTON D.C. - For the second time in six weeks, a Boston-bound flight was forced to slam on the brakes to avoid a potential collision with another plane at Reagan National Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
At about 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, American Airlines flight 2134 was cleared for takeoff with more than 100 passengers and crew on board.
A private plane was cleared to land on an intersecting runway. That plane, a King Air, was told to abort its landing but was already on the ground.
The American Airlines flight was going 80 knots, or just over 90 mph, when it was forced to stop, leaving the pilot to tell air traffic control an inspection would be needed. The flight eventually left four hours behind schedule and landed safely at Logan Airport in Boston.
American Airlines officials said in a statement, "The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority, and we're grateful to our crew for their professionalism. We will support the FAA in its investigation."
April close call at Reagan National
The FAA is already looking at a close call at Reagan National in April that involved a Southwest Airlines jetliner and a JetBlue Boston-bound flight.
In that incident, an air traffic controller instructed the Southwest flight to cross a runway while the JetBlue flight was starting its takeoff roll down the same runway. The planes ended up about 300 feet from each other. No injuries were reported.