Boston-bound flight aborts takeoff at Reagan National to avoid runway collision

WASHINGTON D.C. – For the second time in six weeks, a Boston-bound flight was forced to slam on the brakes to avoid a potential collision with another plane at Reagan National Airport. The FAA is investigating the incident.

At about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, American Airlines flight 2134 with more than 100 passengers and crew on board was cleared for takeoff.

A private plane was cleared to land on an intersecting runway. The private plane, a King Air, was told to abort landing, but it was already on the ground.

The American Airlines flight was already going 80 knots when it was forced to stop, leaving the pilot to tell air traffic control an inspection would be needed. The flight eventually left four hours behind schedule and landed safely at Logan Airport in Boston.

American Airlines officials said in a statement, “The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority, and we’re grateful to our crew for their professionalism. We will support the FAA in its investigation.”

April close call at Reagan National

The FAA is already looking at a close call at Reagan National in April involving a Southwest Airlines jet and another Boston-bound JetBlue flight.

In that incident, an air traffic controller instructed the Southwest flight to cross the runway while the JetBlue flight was starting its takeoff roll down the same runway. The planes ended up about 300 feet from each other. No injuries were reported.