A Learjet 60 flight was instructed to line up and wait before taking off while a JetBlue Embraer 190 landed on an intersecting runway on Monday, Feb. 27 around 7:00 p.m., according to a preliminary statement by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot of the Learjet repeated the instructions back to the air traffic controller but began a takeoff roll instead. The pilot of the JetBlue Flight 206 who was preparing to land instead took evasive action and initiated a climb-out maneuver that involves accelerating and climbing to 1,500 feet above airport altitude.
The Learjet flight was being operated by the private charter company Hop-A-Jet.
Hop-A-Jet's website promises that its aircrews are nearly four times more experienced than mandated by the FAA and that it has an ARG/US Platinum rating, which it claims is the highest safety rating possible.
The FAA is investigating the incident and is seeking to determine the closest distance between the two planes during the incident.
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