An Air Canada Rouge narrowly escaped disaster in Florida in February when its pilot was evacuated on the runway where an American Airlines plane was about to land.
• Also read: on video | A passenger tries to open an airplane door mid-flight
• Also read: [EN VIDÉO] A wind of panic runs through the passengers of an emergency landing plane
• Also read: The death of a passenger in a private plane after severe disturbances
The National Transportation Safety Board announced Monday that it is investigating an incident that occurred Feb. 16 at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, just south of Tampa Bay.
The US agency explained in its Twitter feed that the event occurred “when an Air Canada Rouge A321 was allowed to take off on runway 14, while an American Airlines Boeing 737 was allowed to land on the same runway.”
Fortunately, the Boeing crew had a reflex to abort their landing sequence.
The US agency said in a statement sent to CTV News that the two planes were only one kilometer apart when American Airlines pilots learned of the impending disaster.
The Airbus 321 is a 185-passenger aircraft, while the Boeing 737 can carry, more or less, between 100 and 200 passengers, depending on the aircraft’s version and design.
Other similar disasters have been narrowly averted recently at US airports. The latest came last week in Boston when a plane accidentally crossed an airstrip, cutting off a JetBlue plane on final approach to touch down.
