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Video footage shows a Delta jet nearly crashing into a plane carrying the Gonzaga men's basketball team on the runway at Los Angeles International Airport last Friday (December 27).
“Stop, stop, stop!” an air-traffic controller was heard yelling at the plane carrying the Gonzaga team, which was preparing to cross a runway as the Delta jet took off in the same path at around 4:30 p.m. local time.
The Gonzaga jet came to a sudden stop prior to the Delta Flight 471 continuing its ascendance at full speed and taking off.
“Woo! Woo! Wow,” a plane-spotter who filed the footage was heard saying.
“In the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never heard a ATC controller tell a plane to ‘Stop, stop, stop,’” the plane spotter added before the private jet came to a stop.
The incident came days before Jeju Airlines tragedy in South Korea that resulted in 179 deaths.
Jeju Airlines Flight 2216 crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea after a reported bird strike, which caused its landing gear to fail, resulting in the aircraft skidding into a concrete barrier and bursting into flames. Only two crew members survived the crash.
Two more airplanes nearly crashed hours after the Jeju Airlines tragedy. An Air Canada flight skidded down the runway after a landing gear caught fire as the plane touched down in Nova Scotia Saturday (December 28) night.
The incident took place at Halifax Stanfield International Airport at around 9:30 p.m. local time, which was about two and a half hours after the Jeju Airlines flight crashed in South Korea at 9:02 a.m. local time Sunday (December 29) morning. KLM Flight 1204, which was traveling from Oslo, Noway, to Amsterdam, was also reported to have experienced issues shortly after takeoff Saturday night. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing, as which point it slid off the runway.
No passengers were reported to be injured during the Air Canada and KLM incidents.