A TENSE radio recording has captured the moment a pilot was urged to come to a sudden stop while taking off to avoid smashing into a packed United Airlines jet.
The frazzled air traffic controller quickly apologized after the latest flight drama left injured passengers in the hospital.
On May 6 just after midnight, American Airlines flight AA4736, operated by Republic Airways, was given the all clear to zoom down the runway at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and take off.
However, after reaching top speeds, the pilot was suddenly urged to halt, sending passengers lurching forward in their seats with the abrupt stop.
According to Flight Radar 24, the planes were just .27 miles away from each other when the pilot hit the brakes.
“The stop was as hard as any car accident I’ve been in,” passenger Renee Hoffer told the Associated Press.
The shaken flyer said the lurch was so violent that she ended up in the emergency room the next day with neck pain and arm numbness.
Chilling audio has captured the moment the controller noticed that United Airlines flight UA2657 was taxiing on the same runway.
In radio recordings obtained by KABC from LiveATC, the controller yelled out, “Brickyard 4736 stop!”
“United 2657 expedite off please,” the controller said before the pilot responded,” We’re expediting 2657.”
The Republic pilot then confirmed that his flight had been “rejected” and stood by for instructions.
The controller was then forced to apologize, saying, “Brickyard 4736, sorry about that. I thought United had cleared well before that.
“Just stay there for a moment, and I got to get the other United out of the way. We’ll get you off the runway,” the controller said.
The mixup happened after the controller told the Republic pilot they were cleared for takeoff at the same time that a ground controller on a different radio frequency directed the United plane to a new taxiway, the Associated Press reported.
The United flight had missed its first assigned route and had to be taken to a different one.
Hoffer said that after passengers were unloaded and sent back to the airport at 12:35 am, they were refused vouchers for an overnight hotel stay.
The gate agents blamed the weather for the sudden stop, despite one flyer noticing that another plane was on the runway via an app on her phone.
Republic was flying the route on behalf of American Airlines, but neither brand has given a convincing answer to Hoffer’s complaints, the passenger said.
They both directed her to the FAA, which was also silent over her frustrations.
FLIGHT FEARS
The airline horror comes as a shock, as LaGuardia is one of just 35 airports in the US that use top-notch technology to prevent runway crashes.
Controllers there can use the ASDS-X system to keep an eye on planes, while other airports have to rely on crude methods like looking through binoculars from a tower.
May 6’s runway horror is just the latest in a string of airport accidents that have brought a wave of flying fears.
Newark International Airport in New Jersey made headlines after communications blacked out for nearly two minutes.
And in February, a Southwest plane quickly lurched back into the air during a landing at Chicago’s Midway airport as a business jet had crossed right in its path.
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