An American Airlines flight bound for Bermuda was forced to abort its takeoff Friday evening at Miami International Airport when another aircraft veered onto the same runway. The two planes were approximately one-third of a mile apart when air traffic controllers intervened.
The American Airlines Airbus A319, carrying 112 passengers, was accelerating when pilots initiated an emergency stop upon detecting the other aircraft on the runway. Air traffic control audio captured a tense exchange, with a controller informing the pilot of the business jet, "You just crossed an active runway." The jet pilot responded, "You just told me to cross the runway sir," to which the controller clarified, "No, we said Amerijet 461."
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the private plane was not authorized to be on the runway. An investigation into the incident is ongoing. NetJets, the company operating the private plane, has not yet issued a comment.
The American Airlines flight eventually departed Miami around two hours after its scheduled time, landing in Bermuda shortly before midnight local time.
Separately, a near-miss incident was reported at Newark Liberty International Airport on the same Friday. A United Airlines flight approaching the airport reported a potential drone sighting at an altitude of approximately 100 feet below the aircraft. The flight landed safely without incident. United Airlines stated that the flight landed safely and passengers deplaned normally.
These events follow a reported near-miss last week at Boston Logan International Airport, involving an American Airlines plane and a Delta jet that aviation experts estimate came within 300 feet of each other.