Two planes, Delta Air Lines Flight 2351 and American Airlines Flight 3161, were involved in a near collision at Boston’s airport last month. According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the incident occurred when an erroneous warning light slowed the takeoff of American Airlines Flight 3161, and an air traffic controller got confused about which plane he had cleared for takeoff.

Investigation Details

The NTSB report stated that Delta Air Lines Flight 2351 was cleared to land on runway 33L, while American Airlines Flight 3161 was cleared to take off on intersecting runway 27. However, the American Airbus A319 stopped after eight seconds due to a false alarm, and then started to speed down the runway toward the intersection after 23 seconds. The pilots in the Delta Boeing 737 saw the potential collision and aborted their landing, circling the airport before safely touching down.

The air traffic controller told investigators that he had seen the American flight start rolling, then turned his attention to a small plane to ensure it got out of the way of the incoming Delta flight. When an anti-collision alarm sounded in the tower, the Delta pilots had already taken evasive action, and the controller recalled feeling confused. The controller normally uses paper flight strips to keep track of each plane, but the strip for American Airlines Flight 3161 was not tilted, indicating that he had not cleared it for takeoff.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.