The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed to NewsCenter 5 that the independent federal agency is investigating why a Learjet decided to take off from Boston Logan International Airport Monday night without clearance, nearly causing a catastrophic collision with a JetBlue plane. who was trying to land. According to a Federal Aviation Administration preliminary review, the pilot of a Learjet 60 took off without clearance as JetBlue Flight 206 was about to land on an intersecting runway shortly before 7 p.m., the FAA said. An air traffic controller ordered the Learjet pilot to line up and hold on Runway 9 while the JetBlue Embraer 190 lands on Runway 4-Right, which intersects with Runway 9, the FAA said. “The Learjet pilot clearly read the instructions again, but began a takeoff run instead,” the FAA said. “The pilot of the JetBlue aircraft took evasive action and initiated a climb as the Learjet passed through the intersection.” The JetBlue plane was forced to drop from 87 feet to 3,900 feet to avoid a collision. “On Monday, February 27, JetBlue Flight 206 landed safely in Boston after our pilots were instructed to perform a go-around by air traffic controllers,” a JetBlue spokesperson said. “Safety is JetBlue’s first priority and our crews are trained to respond to situations like this. We will assist authorities in investigating this incident, and further inquiries should be directed to them.” According to flight records available through Google, JetBlue Flight 206 was arriving in Boston from Nashville. “We hit the ground and then come back up in seconds. You definitely had a jolt and then nobody knew what was going on,” said Joe Bisbee, who was aboard JetBlue Flight 206. “Once we went quite far, the plane was on the side. We definitely had to make some sharp turns, so it was really, really scary,” said Lilly Sternburg, another passenger on that JetBlue flight. The NTSB said no damage or injury was reported in connection with the incident. The Learjet was operated by Hop-A-Jet, a private charter company. The FAA will determine the closest proximity between the two planes as part of the investigation. get to the bottom and someone is held accountable,” Bisbee said. “I mean, lives were at stake and that’s not right.” Monday’s incident at Logan airport was the fifth close call involving commercial aircraft in recent months nationwide, according to ABC News.”I think the one thing we see, the “one common thread we see throughout these misadventures is human error. Someone made a mistake in the cockpit and in a control tower,” said ABC News contributor and aviation expert Steve Ganyard. “This is where the FAA is going to start.” In February, FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said he was putting together a team of experts to review airline safety.
The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed to NewsCenter 5 that the independent federal agency is investigating why a Learjet decided to take off from Boston Logan International Airport Monday night without clearance, nearly causing a catastrophic collision with a JetBlue plane. who was trying to land.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration preliminary review, the pilot of a Learjet 60 took off without clearance as JetBlue Flight 206 was about to land on an intersecting runway shortly before 7 p.m., the FAA said.
An air traffic controller asked the Learjet pilot to line up and hold on Runway 9 as the JetBlue Embraer 190 landed on Runway 4-Right, which intersects with Runway 9, the FAA said.
“The Learjet pilot clearly read the instructions again, but began a takeoff run instead,” the FAA said. “The pilot of the JetBlue aircraft took evasive action and initiated a climb as the Learjet passed through the intersection.”
The JetBlue plane was forced to drop from 87 feet to 3,900 feet to avoid a collision.
“On Monday, February 27, JetBlue Flight 206 landed safely in Boston after our pilots were instructed to perform a go-around by air traffic controllers,” a JetBlue spokesperson said. “Safety is JetBlue’s first priority and our crews are trained to respond to situations like this. We will assist authorities in investigating this incident, and further inquiries should be directed to them.”
According to flight records available through Google, JetBlue Flight 206 was arriving in Boston from Nashville.
“We hit the ground and then come back up in seconds. You definitely had a jolt and then nobody knew what was going on,” said Joe Bisbee, who was aboard JetBlue Flight 206.
“Once we got high enough, the plane was on its side. We definitely had to make some sharp turns, so it was really scary,” said Lilly Sternburg, another passenger on that JetBlue flight.
The NTSB said no damage or injuries were reported in connection with the incident.
The Learjet was operated by Hop-A-Jet, a private charter company.
The FAA will determine the closest proximity between the two planes as part of the investigation.
“I just hope the FAA will be able to get to the bottom of it and someone will be held accountable,” Bisbee said. “I mean, lives were at stake and that’s not right.”
Monday’s incident at Logan Airport was the fifth incident involving commercial aircraft in recent months nationally, according to ABC News.
“I think the one thing we see, the one common thread we see throughout these misadventures, is human error. Someone made a mistake in the cockpit and a control tower,” Steve Ganyard , ABC News contributor and aviation expert, said. “This is where the FAA is going to start.”
In February, FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said he was putting together a team of experts to review airline safety.