By Michael Garko, In Airline News
Thanks to the quick work of an air-traffic controller, a possible collision on New York-JFK’s runway was averted.
A Lufthansa Airbus A340 was in the middle of its takeoff when the JFK controller came across the radio and yelled for the plane to stop its takeoff.
“Cancel take off! Cancel take off plans!” yelled the air controller who saw that the Munich-bound flight was headed toward a collision with an Egypt Air Boeing 777 at around 6:50 p.m. Monday.
“Lufthansa 411 heavy is rejecting takeoff,” the pilot radioed back.
The Lufthansa pilot safely stopped the massive plane on Runway 22R and waited for further instructions.
“Those two were coming together,” radioed an unidentified pilot who witnessed the near-disaster.
According to a New York Post report, the EgyptAir pilot made an incorrect turn, putting it into the path of the Lufthansa flight.
The Lufthansa flight was carrying 286 passengers and crew, while the EgyptAir Boeing 777 is capable of carrying 346 passengers and crew. EgyptAir declined to comment how many were on board their aircraft.
After a check on its brakes, the Lufthansa took off to Munich an hour and forty minutes after the incident. The EgyptAir flight departed ninety minutes after the incident occured.
The incident is under investigation by the FAA.
AUDIO: JFK Near Miss
