An American Airlines plane bound for Bermuda was forced to abort its take-off at Miami airport after another jet veered onto the same runway.
The two planes were just a third of a mile apart at one point Friday evening as air traffic controllers scrambled to avoid a collision.
The American Airlines plane, carrying 112 passengers, was rolling at around 60mph when pilots hit the brakes after spotting “another aircraft on the runway,” CNN reported.
ATC audio obtained by ABC News captured the tense exchange between the pilot of the plane which had entered the runway and air traffic controllers
“You just crossed an active runway,” a controller said.
“You just told me to cross the runway sir,” the business jet pilot replied.
“No, we said Amerijet 461.”
The Federal Aviation Administration has since revealed the private plane was unauthorized to be on the runway – and an investigation is underway.
NetJets – the company which operates the private plane – has not commented. The Post has contacted American Airlines for comment.
The American Airlines plane, an Airbus A319, left Miami just before 8 p.m., around two hours after its scheduled departure time, and landed in Bermuda just before midnight local time.
Another near miss was reported Friday at Newark airport, involving a United Airlines plane that was coming into land.
Its pilot said “We almost hit a drone” in audio verified by CNN. The pilot said the object was “about 100 feet below us.”
“United flight 1513 reported a potential drone sighting prior to arriving in Newark. The flight landed safely, and customers deplaned normally at the gate,” United said in a statement.
Last week, a near-miss involving an American Airlines plane and a Delta jet was reported at Boston Logan airport – with aviation experts estimating the two planes were just 300 feet from each other.
