Plane’s takeoff aborted as another crossed its path at Kennedy, FAA says

A passenger plane flying out of Kennedy International Airport had to bring its takeoff to an abrupt halt on Friday night after another crossed the runway in its path 1,000 feet ahead, according to the FAA. The departing plane, a Boeing 737 operated by Delta, was about to take off around 8:45 p.m. when a Boeing 777 operated by American Airlines crossed the runway ahead of it, the FAA said. The Delta plane, Flight 1943, came to a “safe stop” after air traffic controllers noticed the other plane, the agency said. The American Airlines plane, Flight 106, had “crossed from an adjacent taxiway,” the FAA said. The agency said it was investigating and that information about what happened was “preliminary.” The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages Kennedy, declined to comment and deferred questions to the FAA. Flight 1943 typically flies from Kennedy to the Dominican Republic, according to the flight-tracking site Flight Aware. American Airlines Flight 106 typically flies from Kennedy to London. In an audio clip on Twitter posted by Ross Feinstein, a former spokesman for American Airlines and the TSA, air traffic controllers can be heard instructing the Delta crew to cancel takeoff. One of the controllers then appears to tell the crew members of the American Airlines flight that they were supposed to be on a different runway. Feinstein said it was exceedingly rare for such near collisions to occur on runways.<br/>