Near-accident: American Airlines takeoff at Washington DC aborted

It was the second near-miss at National Airport in six weeks. On April 18, an air traffic controller instructed a Southwest pilot to cross a runway that was being used by a JetBlue plane taking off, according to the FAA.

The incidents have heightened concerns among critics of a recently passed bipartisan aviation bill that expands the number of flights to and from National.

Virginia’s U.S. senators had argued that the April incident was “a flashing red warning light that this airport is overloaded” and said adding five more round-trip flights later this year would “jeopardize the safety of the 25 million people who fly through DCA each year.”

Following Wednesday’s incident, Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) expressed relief in a social media post that no one was injured, but said it showed why the move to “cram even more flights into DCA was so dangerous. The FAA must stand up against any new flights that threaten safety.”

The agency did not respond to questions about whether the two incidents indicate broader safety concerns at the airport or whether the new aviation law could exacerbate safety problems.

According to the FAA, serious runway injuries are rare at the national level and have fallen by 33 percent so far this fiscal year compared to last year. The reason given was efforts to improve technology, coordination and training.

“Air travel is the safest way to travel, and that’s because we don’t take anything for granted,” the agency said in a statement.

The FAA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation and said earlier this month that maintaining safe airport operations “regardless of the number of flights at DCA” is the FAA’s priority.

On Wednesday, American Airlines Flight 2134 accelerated to 89 knots as a Hawker Beechcraft turboprop aircraft came in for a landing, according to data from the aircraft tracking platform ADS-B Exchange. When the small plane was directly in front of the passenger jet at the intersection of the two runways, the American plane was able to reduce its speed significantly, according to the data.

The exact circumstances, including why the US aircraft was given clearance to take off, are among the questions that investigators are investigating.

American Airlines said in a statement: “We are grateful to our crew for their professionalism.”

After the incident, an American Airlines crew member radioed air traffic control to seek clarification on what to do next, according to a recording from LiveATC.net.

“We need a place to sit after the aborted launch,” he said. “We need to think about what we’re going to do here.”