A UPS cargo plane had to abort landing in Louisville this week as a small plane crossed the runway just as it approached.
The air traffic controller shouted “Skylab 25, stop!” at the small plane before ordering the UPS plane to pull up and perform a maneuver called a go-around at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport, a major hub for UPS.
Just last November, a UPS plane crashed after an engine fell off as it was rolling down the runway to take off.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday that it plans to hold two days of investigative hearings starting May 19 to learn more about why the crash that killed 14 people happened.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in this latest incident, which happened about 12:10 a.m. Tuesday.
Right after the cargo plane safely pulled up, the controller asked “Skylab 25, what are you doing?”
The pilot responded “Skylab 25, yeah, sorry about that.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.
Close calls like this happen somewhere frequently.
Just last week, a Frontier Airlines jet nearly collided with two trucks that crossed in front of it as it was taxiing at slow speeds at Los Angeles International Airport. In a separate incident earlier this week in Charlotte, North Carolina, an American Airlines pilot told the tower he had to slam on the brakes when a truck crossed in front of him on a taxiway.
Last month, an Air Canada plane landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York smashed into a fire truck that had been cleared to cross the runway less than 20 seconds earlier. Both pilots were killed and dozens were injured in that crash.
