FLIGHT-MARE

Basketball Team Narrowly Escapes Death After Near-Collision on LAX Runway

The incident reportedly occurred during the holiday rush on Friday.

Chilling footage captures a close call as two planes narrowly avoided colliding with each other while moving on the runway at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Per NBC Los Angeles, the incident occurred around 4:20 p.m. Friday and saw an Embraer E135 jet (operated by charter company Key Lime Air) carrying the Gonzaga University Men’s Basketball team abruptly pull to a stop after air traffic controllers noted a commercial Delta flight was taking off at the same time. “Stop, stop, stop!” an air traffic controller in the LAX tower yelled to the jet as Delta Flight 471 continued to take-off. While a crash was thankfully avoided, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it would be investigating the incident. “Air traffic controllers directed Key Lime Air Flight 563 to hold short of crossing a runway at Los Angeles International Airport because a second aircraft was taking off from the runway at the time,” an FAA spokesperson confirmed per NBC Los Angeles. The FAA also previously announced in October it would be opening audits into runway incursions at 45 U.S. airports.