An American Airlines jet aborted a landing at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., to avoid a collision with another plane on Tuesday morning, aviation officials said.
The flight was making its final descent at 8:20 a.m. ET when the pilot saw another plane preparing to take off from the runway and made the quick decision to perform a go-around maneuver, in which the pilot pulled up and ascended toward the skies, to avoid the other aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The FAA said the maneuver was made to "ensure separation was maintained between this aircraft and a preceding departure from the same runway."
The first time I ever flew was from New York to National. It was on the Eastern Shuttle. $20 one way. It was like taking a train. No ticket, no boarding pass. Ya just walk on the plane, take an empty seat. The stewardess would walk down the aisle and collect $20 bucks from you.
On that flight just as we were coming in to land, as we were almost over the runway apron, the pilot gunned the plane and we flew down the runway at a couple hundred feet and pulled a go around. We landed. As we were getting off the plane the pilot said there was another plane taking off on crossing runway.