Overview
- A Delta A319 aborted its landing at Boston Logan after an American Airlines 737 was cleared for takeoff from an intersecting runway, forcing the Delta crew to execute a go-around on Saturday.
- Flight-tracking analysis and aviation experts estimate the two jets came within roughly 300 feet of each other, and ATC audio captures a Delta pilot saying “going around because of American” while a controller appears confused about the American flight’s path.
- Delta says the crew received an onboard traffic advisory as the plane descended; the Airbus later landed safely and all 129 passengers and six crew members deplaned without injury.
- The FAA and NTSB have opened investigations into the runway incursion, and senators cited the episode during a recent hearing on airspace safety where Sen. Tammy Duckworth praised the Delta crew’s actions.
- The incident renews scrutiny of intersecting-runway operations, provisional clearances, staffing shortfalls and legacy surveillance systems, issues that investigators and lawmakers say could drive procedural and funding changes.