The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it will investigate a near miss on the runway of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside Washington, D.C., Thursday morning, in which one plane nearly crossed into a runway as another plane was taking off.

According to an emailed statement from the FAA, an air traffic controller instructed a Southwest flight to cross one of the runways while a JetBlue flight was “starting its takeoff roll on the same runway.”

The incident happened Thursday around 7:41 a.m. local time. The near-miss happened between Southwest Flight 2937 and JetBlue Flight 1554, the FAA said.

Audio posted on YouTube shows air traffic controllers telling the planes to stop. The video, posted by VASAviation, said the Southwest flight was about 65 feet away from entering the runway and about 300 feet from the JetBlue plane, NBC News first reported.

The near collision comes after many flight-related incidents have occurred in the last several months, prompting the FAA to investigate.

In mid-January, the FAA said it was investigating a ground collision at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Transportation officials and police have launched investigations into the communication between air traffic control and two planes after a fiery collision left five people dead in Japan in early January.

An investigative report by The New York Times published last August found that after reviewing FAA safety reports, there was an alarming pattern of safety lapses and near-misses in the skies and on runways in the United States. While no major crashes have occurred, the Times noted that the potentially dangerous incidents are happening more frequently than previously thought.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With society at the forefront of an AI revolution, University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell met with members of Texas’ congressional delegation, seeking support for the University’s artificial intelligence initiatives to dramatically expand the AI workforce and conduct critical research. Hartzell’s first trip to Capitol Hill as president underscored the significance and breadth of UT’s AI expertise and its importance to the future of the U.S. economy, national security and defense.

“We have the largest GPU cluster in all of academia. We are home to the National Science Foundation’s Institute for Machine Learning. And we are the headquarters of the Army Futures Command, which works closely with Texas Robotics and other disciplines,” Hartzell said during a reception at the Capitol on Tuesday night. “One challenge we have is the escalating cost of competing with the private sector. It is important that our country invests in public sector AI, and I am grateful to have support of key members of our Texas delegation, who hold seats on some of the most powerful committees in Washington.”

AI initiatives in public research universities such as UT are more often open and act as an enabler for the public good than those in the private sector. Yet, top AI talent has increasingly migrated to the higher-paying private sector. A 2023 survey published in Science.org found that nearly 70% of people with Ph.D.s in AI go to work in the private sector, compared with 21% two decades ago.

“UT has emerged as a leader in AI workforce development and research, and both of these are critical to America’s national security and defense,” said U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. “I look forward to working with President Hartzell to continue building UT Austin’s research capacity and ensuring the next generation of researchers and scientists are from Texas.”

In 2023, UT launched a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI), the first large-scale degree program of its kind and the only master’s degree program in AI from a top-ranked institution. Combined with UT’s existing deep portfolio of AI degrees and programming, the University now has the ability to contribute to America’s AI workforce at an unrivaled capacity.

UT’s AI applications across defense and national security range from robots in conventional warfare to cybersecurity and cyberwarfare. The University is working with the Army Futures Command for rapid adoption and integration of AI systems and robotics for autonomous vehicles in a combat environment that could perform tasks such as search and rescue, mine-clearing operations, firefighting, and surveillance and reconnaissance.

UT’s Strauss Center for International Security and Law is conducting partially classified research on rules of engagement for AI-powered military systems and is advising the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on AI issues, including President Joe Biden’s executive order on the safe, secure and trustworthy development and use of AI.

“The University of Texas is leading the nation in AI research. It is critical to keep on pace with these developing technologies,” said U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, a member of the House Appropriations and Homeland Security committees. “I look forward to working alongside my colleagues in Congress and President Hartzell on this important initiative.”

Hartzell’s message was bolstered by University advertising in two prominent Washington Metro stations, dubbed “Metro Station Domination,” promoting UT as “the epicenter of AI excellence.” UT is uniquely positioned to lead across the spectrum of AI applications that align with the University’s top academic and research strengths. Hartzell has declared 2024 as the “year of AI” at UT.

WASHINGTON – A cloudy start to Thursday morning will give way to sunshine and temperatures near 80 degrees by later this afternoon.

FOX 5’s Taylor Grenda says most of the immediate Washington, D.C. area will remain dry. Showers could develop in parts of northeast Maryland, southern Pennsylvania, and northern Delaware as a stalled front moves through.

Grenda says sunshine this afternoon will cause temps to spike. We can expect highs in the upper-70s to lower-80s – nearly 10 degrees above where we should be for this time of year.

Friday will be much cooler with clouds and passing showers during the afternoon into the evening. Highs on Friday will only reach into the mid-to-upper 60s.

Expect a partly sunny Saturday with highs in the upper-60s with the possibility of showers in the evening.

A cloudy Sunday with highs near 60 degrees.