Two commercial airplanes nearly collided on a runway at Benito Juárez Mexico City International Airport, prompting an investigation.

A Delta Air Lines plane was on its takeoff roll when an Aeromexico regional jet flew overhead and landed on the same runway.

The two aircraft came within 200 feet of each other.

“At Mexico City International Airport, a Delta plane bound for Atlanta came within 200 feet of an Aeroméxico passenger jet descending on the same runway after air traffic control cleared both planes for their takeoff and landing,” World News Tonight wrote.

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Delta Air Lines said the Atlanta-bound flight with 150 people onboard was on its takeoff roll when the crew aborted after observing “another aircraft landing in front of their aircraft on the same runway.”

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In air traffic control recordings, the Delta pilot can be heard saying, “We are holding on the runway” followed by someone saying, “Wow” and “Increíble.” (Spanish for “incredible.”) It is unclear if that was said by a nearby pilot or a controller.

The Delta plane had reached a speed of approximately 60 miles per hour before it stopped.

The Delta jet returned to its gate before finally departing to its destination later that morning.

“There are parallel runways at Mexico City. So we don’t know if the controller told the Aeromexico aircraft to land on the left-hand and not the right-hand runway where the Delta jet was,” said Steve Ganyard, an ABC News aviation contributor and former fighter pilot. “We also don’t know, perhaps the tower controller didn’t understand that they had cleared the Aeromexico aircraft to land while simultaneously clearing the Delta jet to take off.”

“Because nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, Delta will fully cooperate with authorities as the circumstances around this flight are investigated. We appreciate the flight crew’s actions to maintain situational awareness and act quickly – part of Delta’s extensive training,” Delta said in a statement, according to Breaking Aviation News & Videos.

“At Aeromexico, the safety of our customers and employees is, and will always be, our highest priority,” Aeromexico reportedly said.

Watch the FlightRadar24 animation of the near collision:

CNN noted:

The pilots stopped the takeoff and returned to the terminal. The plane eventually took off on its flight to Atlanta about three hours late.

Mexico’s aviation regulators are internationally recognized and airport safety is fully guaranteed, the Mexican president said at a news conference Wednesday.

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“Mistakes can always happen. Fortunately, in this case, nothing serious occurred,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. “A review is being conducted along with all necessary measures to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again.”

Delta said it reported the incident to Mexican aviation authorities, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board in the United States.

In related news, the FAA is investigating a close call between a SkyWest Airlines plane and a U.S. Air Force jet over North Dakota.

Near Mid-Air Collision Between Commercial Airplane And U.S. Military Jet Under FAA Investigation

 

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