How did the near-collision happen? And how was disaster averted?
Two planes nearly collided this past Saturday at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), and quick thinking by the pilot of one of the planes is being credited with likely saving many lives. The incident, which the NTSB and FAA are investigating, happened at AUS when a FedEx 767 cargo plane was approaching to land on Runway 18L, the shorter of the parallel runways at the airport, though it is 9,000 feet long. Air traffic control recordings indicate that the controller did clear the FedEx plane to land on 18L and also the Southwest jet, which had 127 people aboard to take off. The Southwest jet appeared to hesitate to begin its takeoff roll. According to our interpretation of the ATC recordings, it took 37 seconds between the time the Southwest jet was cleared for takeoff and when the controller asked the Southwest crew if they were on their takeoff roll yet, at which time they replied that they were just starting their takeoff roll. The reason for the apparent delay is not known.
Source: https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/
