Airliners Stop 300 Feet Apart At DCA

The FAA is investigating a runway incursion at Washington-Reagan Airport on Thursday in which two airliners were stopped by controllers about 300 feet apart. According to ATC recordings, the Southwest 737 and JetBlue A320 were both following ATC instructions when they came close to meeting at the intersection of a taxiway and runway. The FAA confirmed the Southwest flight had been cleared to cross the runway while the JetBlue flight was "starting its takeoff roll on the same runway." The Southwest plane was already 65 feet past the hold line on the taxiway.

After both aircraft came to a stop under the shouted instructions from the tower, they were given further taxi instructions and both took off normally a few minutes later. Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both from Virginia, quickly made political hay of the mishap. Legislators are split on whether to allow more slots at DCA, some alleging that it's to allow more direct flights for Congress members to get home. "DCA's overburdened runway is already the busiest in the country and we fear that adding more flights could put passenger safety at serious jeopardy," the senators said in a joint statement.