"After being given clearance to depart, JetBlue flight 1295 was rolling down the tarmac at full speed at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport when a Caribbean Airlines plane crossed into its path without authorization," the Daily Mail reported.
The JetBlue captain quickly slammed on the brakes and prevented collision with the Boeing, although the Flight 1295 had already reached take-off speeds.
"It's about as bad as it can get without having two planes collide," said Bob Ober, a former commercial airline pilot, as quoted by WABC-TV.
According to the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) spokesperson Kathleen Bergen, air traffic controllers reacted immediately and ordered the JetBlue team to abort its take-off and stop. Unfortunately, the controllers could not establish connection to the Caribbean pilot since the crew of the aircraft was on the wrong frequency and did not hear instructions. Kathleen Bergen added that the two planes came as near as 2,800 feet to each other. Still the situation was extremely dangerous due to the fact one of the jetliners was moving at130 miles per hour.
"In just a matter of two to three seconds, that plane would have been at a speed where it could not have stopped," Ober emphasized.
"Ninety percent of these things can be eliminated with technology, you spend the money and do it right, there's no reason for a delay in doing this," he added.
Passengers expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the incident.
"When they said a collision was inevitable if pilot hadn't braked, I said 'WHAT?!'" said passenger Krista Hollis.
"We were headed full steam down the runway, and the plane came to a screeching stop," noted passenger Brandon Card.
WABC-TV noted that JFK was planning to implement a new runway lighting system that could prevent incidents, such as the latest one. "Red in-pavement lights illuminate when it is not safe to enter or cross the runway," the media source elaborated.
While nine airports including Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. have already been equipped with safety lights, JFK, LaGuardia and Newark "are all waiting" for them to be installed.
