An American Airlines plane scheduled to fly to Bermuda was forced to abort its takeoff from Miami International Airport after a private jet crossed the runway into its direct path.
In a statement to Global News, the airline confirmed the incident, which took place around 6 p.m. local time on Friday, saying, “After receiving clearance, American Airlines flight 308 discontinued its takeoff when the crew observed another aircraft on the runway.”
In a separate statement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane observed in the path of the American Airlines flight had not been cleared to enter the runway.
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“The crew of American Airlines Flight 308 aborted takeoff at Miami International Airport because another aircraft was crossing the same runway without authorization,” its statement read, adding that the incident is under investigation.
In an audio recording of the incident obtained by CNN, a heated exchange between pilots and air traffic control can be heard, the outlet reports.
“You just crossed an active runway,” the controller said, according to an ATC.com recording of air traffic control audio, CNN wrote.
“You just told me to cross the runway, sir,” the pilot said.
“No, we said Amerijet 461,” the controller responded, concluding the exchange, the U.S. outlet wrote.
The aborted takeoff came on the same day a United Airlines flight almost collided with a drone while landing in New Jersey and after several international collisions involving smaller aircraft.
Last week, a small plane in distress ended up in a ditch while making an emergency landing on a Manitoba highway.
Following the crash, one of the four people on board was taken to hospital with what were believed to be minor injuries, police said.
In a fatal aviation incident on Sunday, a skydiving plane crashed in northeastern France, killing all 11 people on board, authorities said.
The dead included five parachuting instructors, five novice jumpers and the pilot, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said it was France’s biggest skydiving-related aviation accident in about 30 years.
A week earlier, a plane carrying a pilot and 11 passengers on a skydiving outing crashed into a Missouri field, killing all 12 people on board.
Aborted takeoffs are uncommon but account for the vast majority of runway incidents and can be a result of engine failure, pilot indecision, fire, bird strike, ATC instruction or warning indications, according to the FAA flying handbook.
The Flight Safety Foundation estimates that about one in every 3,000 takeoffs is aborted. The FAA does not publish data on what the aviation industry refers to as rejected takeoffs.
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