Plane Forced To Go-Around When United Jet Turned Towards Path

National Transportation Safety Board has found a Delta jet involved in an incursion at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was already on the runway; a finding that contradicts initial reports saying the jet was still on final approach when the incursion occurred.

Initial reports said the Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 was still approaching the airport when air traffic controllers saw a United Airlines Airbus A320 make a wrong turn and head toward the runway the Delta flight had been assigned, according to the Associated Press. But those reports were incorrect.

The two jets came within 100 feet of each other in the July 11 incident; they were carrying a total of 300 passengers.

According to a preliminary report by the NTSB, "The FLL ground controller instructed UAL1544 to taxi to runway 9L via taxiway T7. As the flight was taxiing on taxiway D near runway 9L, the tower local controller noticed the airplane was going too fast to hold short of the runway. LC told the GC to tell UAL to stop. The GC said "UAL 1544 stop, stop, stop." The crew stopped on runway 9L, 30 feet from the centerline."

The local controller then instructed the Delta flight to go around. When the crew received this instruction, "the main landing gear was on the ground," said the report. The crew told investigators they heard the urgency in the controller's voice "so they knew they had to get the aircraft airborne."

The FAA reported the Delta jet made it over the United jet by less than 100 feet.

This is the fourth runway incursion FLL has had since June 1, 2006. Two of those were said to be pilot error and the other was ruled a controller error; none involved collisions, as ANN reported.

The United flight reached its destination without incident at Dulles International Airport in Washington with 133 passengers on board, said Megan McCarthy, spokeswoman for UAL Corp.'s United Airlines.

The Delta flight came in from Atlanta with 167 passengers on board, said Betsy Talton, a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.delta.com. www.united.com