CNN is reporting the Allied Pilots Association says three American Airlines pilots will comply with an NTSB subpoena to testify in the board’s investigation of a runway incursion at JFK Airport on Jan. 13. The pilots were on a Boeing 777 that crossed a runway in front of a departing Delta 737. They initially refused to agree to have their statements recorded and the NTSB countered by issuing subpoenas. The union claimed the NTSB’s plan to record their statements was out of the ordinary but the board insisted it was necessary to ensure accuracy.
The incident was the first of a string of runway incursions that has prompted a call to action by the FAA to address what the agency fears may be an erosion of safety vigilance or systems. Since that mishap, a FedEx 767 had to go around to avoid landing on top of a departing Southwest 737, and a United 777 crossed a runway in front of a landing Cessna Caravan cargo plane.
