PORT-OF-SPAIN – Passengers on board a JetBlue flight bound for Austin, Texas, on Saturday night narrowly escaped injury after a Caribbean Airlines jet reportedly crossed the runway in front of the craft as it prepared to take off.
Shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday, JetBlue Flight 1295 was making its way down the runway at Kennedy International Airport in New York, when the pilots saw Caribbean Airlines Flight 526 crossing the runway in front of them.
The pilots immediately hit the brakes, avoiding a collision, and alerted the tower of the incident.
According to an AP report, JetBlue spokesman Rick Clark said the flight had been going at high speed when the incident occurred.
JetBlue says the Caribbean Airlines flight was not authorised to use the runway at that time.
The incident caused a three-hour delay. However, passengers arrived safely in Texas early yesterday morning.
Passengers on the JetBlue flight spoke with ABC’s Eyewitness News, saying it was a terrifying experience.
“One minute we were going really fast and the next minute the brakes just slammed on,” one passenger said.
Another passenger said she suffered “a huge whiplash”.
Contacted yesterday, a Caribbean Airlines spokeswoman said the airline was concerned to hear of the incident and is taking the “runway incursion” allegation very seriously.
The spokeswoman added that Caribbean Airlines is in the process of investigating the facts of the incident in cooperation with all regulator agencies.
“In the interim, Caribbean Airlines is complying with all incident management procedures included within its Safety Management System and adjunct regulations,” she said. (Trinidad Express)
