Drama in the air: Private plane takes off and nearly hits passengers

A Delta passenger plane was forced to abort its landing at the last moment at New York's LaGuardia Airport after a private plane took off from a nearby runway without clearance from the control tower. The aircraft came within about 300 meters of each other. The incident adds to a series of safety failures at the airport, including a deadly crash of an Air Canada Express months earlier.

Drama in the skies over New York: A Delta passenger flight was forced to abort its landing at the last moment to avoid a collision with a private plane that took off from a nearby runway without authorization. The serious incident occurred at LaGuardia Airport. Tracking data reveals that the two aircraft came within about 300 meters of each other moments before the Delta pilot executed an emergency maneuver. Radio communications recordings show that the crew of the private plane, a Phenom 300 model operated by NetJets, mistakenly believed they had received takeoff clearance. The controller told them: "I believe you never received clearance to take off, sir. You received clearance to line up and wait." The incident has been referred to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for investigation. This incident adds to a series of concerning safety events at US airports, particularly at LaGuardia. Just months earlier, an Air Canada Express plane crashed at the same airport after colliding with a fire truck on the runway immediately upon landing. The deadly accident killed both pilots and injured dozens of passengers. A preliminary investigation report indicated that the fire truck was mistakenly cleared to cross the runway while the aircraft was on final approach, and that warning systems did not function properly. Both incidents raise serious questions about the level of safety at one of the busiest airports in the United States.