‘Delta 1943, Cancel Takeoff’: Wrong Turn Results in Near Miss at J.F.K.

On the audio recordings, after the Delta pilot confirms that he is canceling takeoff, a Kennedy controller tells the American pilots, “possible pilot deviation.”

One of the American pilots tries to make sense of what happened, asking the tower, “The last clearance we were given, we were cleared to cross, is that correct?”

The controller responds that the American plane was indeed cleared to cross, but it was cleared to cross Runway 31 Left and proceed on to the start of Runway 4 Left for departure, rather than crossing 4 Left and heading to the start of 31 Left.

“You were supposed to depart Runway 4 Left,” the controller says. “You’re currently holding short of 31 Left.”

The F.A.A. said that the unfolding — and averted — disaster was spotted with help from a system that detects and displays the movements of aircraft and vehicles on runways and taxiways at Kennedy and about three dozen other U.S. airports, using radar and motion sensors.

It declined to provide more details about the episode, which is unrelated to a nationwide problem two days before in which thousands of flights were delayed after a system the F.A.A. uses to send safety alerts to pilots went down.

After aborting takeoff, the Delta plane returned to the gate, the passengers disembarked and the flight was delayed overnight, Delta said. “The safety of our customers and crew is always Delta’s No. 1 priority,” the airline said in a statement on Sunday. “We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay of their travels.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/15/us/jfk-planes-delta-american-faa.html