A Thursday morning at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport saw a near-collision on the runway as a JetBlue flight bound for Boston braked sharply to avoid crashing into a Southwest Airlines aircraft. According to Boston 25 News, JetBlue flight 1554 was cleared for takeoff at 7:40 a.m. when Southwest flight 2937, directed by another controller, crossed the same runway.

During the attempted departure, the air traffic control's urgent commands, captured in audio recordings with one controller focusing on the active runways and another instructing taxiing planes, echoed the gravity of the situation. According to an audio clip obtained by Boston 25 News, an air traffic controller is heard shouting "JetBlue 1554, Stop!", followed by "Southwest, Stop! Southwest 2937, Stop!" to which the Southwest pilot responded, "We stopped. We were cleared to cross runway 4."

Frighteningly close to disaster, the two airplanes stopped an estimated 400 feet apart, the equivalent of roughly three airplane lengths. The JetBlue aircraft, accelerating to a top speed of 34 mph for takeoff, managed to come to a stop without any ensuing injuries. Post-event checks confirmed the JetBlue aircraft was safe to eventually continue on to Boston. "Safety is JetBlue's first priority, and we will work closely with federal officials as this event is fully investigated," a JetBlue spokesperson said in a statement provided to WCVB.

Local passengers, among the unnerved witnesses to this close shave, recounted the abrupt halt on the runway. One woman aboard the JetBlue flight described to WCVB that "We were on the runway taking flight and then they hit the brakes and we were rerouted back to the gate where they did their checks, informed us that there was potentially an issue with separation due to another flight." The Federal Aviation Administration, in confirming the sequence of events, has begun an investigation into this serious incident.

While the JetBlue flight was delayed significantly by the runway drama, finally departing around 1:29 p.m., the Southwest flight continued shortly afterward to Orlando as scheduled. Aviation analysts, weighing in on the gravity of the incident, labeled the situation as critically serious, citing the slim margin for error. "In my opinion, this was a very serious situation because there was almost no margin for any further error," ABC aviation analyst John Nance described the proximity of the two aircrafts in a statement obtained by WCVB. The FAA's ongoing investigation will aim to shed light on how such a miscommunication occurred and how similar incidents can be prevented in the future.