The Gonzaga University basketball team was on board a flight that had just landed at Los Angeles International Airport, when a Delta airlines plane nearly crashed into them on the runway.
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Gonzaga basketball's team plane nearly collides with Delta flight at LAX 😳pic.twitter.com/tlHaf9UNyb
— Complex (@Complex) December 30, 2024
In the footage captured by YouTuber, "Airline Videos,"air traffic control was heard yelling, "Stop Stop Stop!"
🚨 “STOP STOP STOP!” LAX ATC urgently called out to a Key Lime Air jet as a Delta jet took off from runway 24L. Was this a runway incursion? All of it captured live during Friday’s Airline Videos Live broadcast. pic.twitter.com/5vwQfVzggQ
— AIRLINE VIDEOS (@airlinevideos) December 28, 2024
The Federal Aviation Administration investigated this close-call incident, which occurred on Friday at 4:20 pm ET.
In view of the situation, the plane that was carrying Gonzaga's team, Embraer E135 charter jet, had just landed from Spokane, Washington.
The plane, which is operated by a charter flight company called Key Lime Air, had been told to halt before crossing the pathway of an incoming Delta Airlines commercial flight that was set for a departure to Atlanta.
"Air traffic controllers directed Key Lime Air Flight 563 to hold short of crossing a runway at Los Angeles International Airport because a second aircraft was taking off from the runway at the time," an FAA spokesperson said to NBC 4 Los Angeles. "When the Embraer E135 jet proceeded to cross the hold bars, air traffic controllers told the pilots to stop. The jet never crossed the runway edge line."
Ultimately, no one was harmed on Gonzaga's plane or the Delta flight, but safety concerns have been raised.
The Senior Vice President of Key Lime Air, Jon Coleman gave a statement on Saturday.
"Key Lime Air takes pride in its pilots and training model, a regimen that demands the highest competency in the industry today. Safety of those entrusted to us is our highest priority. We are working within our own Safety Management System and with the FAA to determine the facts of the event and will respond accordingly"
No. 19 Gonzaga (9-4) will face-off with Pepperdine (6-8) on Monday, December 30 at 7:00 pm ET.
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