FAA Investigating Another "Close Call"

DALLAS - The FAA is investigating another “close call” after two aircraft narrowly avoided a collision at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).

The near miss took place at around 7 pm EST on February 27. It involved a jetBlue (B6) Embraer E190, operating flight 206 from Nashville (BNA) and a Learjet operated by Hop-A-Jet, a charter carrier based in Fort Lauderdale.

In a statement, the FAA said it was “investigating a close call between a Learjet and a JetBlue flight Monday night at Boston Logan International airport.”

"Evasive Action"

“According to a preliminary review, the pilot of a Learjet 60 took off without clearance while JetBlue flight 206 was preparing to land on an intersecting runway.

“An air traffic controller instructed the pilot of the Learjet to line up and wait on Runway 9 while the JetBlue Embraer 190 landed on Runway 4-Right, which intersects Runway 9. The Learjet pilot read back the instructions clearly but began a takeoff roll instead. The pilot of the JetBlue aircraft took evasive action and initiated a climb-out as the Learjet crossed the intersection.”

The FAA said that part of the investigation would determine the exact distance between the two aircraft at their closest point.

Safety Review Launched

In February, the FAA announced that it would be creating a team to launch a safety review into other near-miss incidents which have occurred recently.

The first occurred on February 4 at Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). A Southwest Airlines (WN) Boeing 737 had erroneously been cleared for take off as a FedEx (FX) Boeing 767 was landing. According to reports, the two jets came within 100ft of one another.

The next near miss happened on January 13 when an American Airlines (AA) Boeing 777 crossed the runway at New York (JFK) when a Delta Air Lines (DL) had commenced its takeoff roll. The pilots of the DL jet managed to abort the takeoff.

https://airwaysmag.com/ntsb-faa-investigate-runway-incursion-jfk/

Featured Image: jetBlue Airways Embraer E190 (N197JB) at BOS. Photo: Marty Basaria/Airways.