Suspenseful footage has surfaced showing the moment that a private jet carrying the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team nearly collided with a Delta passenger plane at LAX.
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According to KTLA, an investigation has been launched after a private jet carrying the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team almost collided with a Delta passenger plane while taking off on the runway at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) on Friday afternoon (December 27). The incident is said to have happened around 4:30 p.m.
The entire suspenseful moment was caught on camera, and the video footage has recently been released. According to a report from The Los Angeles Times, the private jet had just arrived from Spokane, Washington, and was carrying the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team.
In a statement obtained by The Los Angeles Times, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that when the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team’s chartered Embraer E135 jet “proceeded to cross the hold bars, air traffic controllers told the pilots to stop.” The L.A. Times also reported that the team’s private jet was operated by Colorado-based Key Lime Air.
Airline Videos Live was the company to provided the suspenseful footage, which showed the moment the Gonzaga basketball team’s private jet nearly collided with the Delta passenger plane. In it, viewers can see both planes appearing to operate normally before inching closer to each other and nearly crossing paths to touch.
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Air traffic controllers were heard on audio directing the Key Lime Air flight (the private jet carrying the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team) to stop just before colliding with a Delta passenger plane that was taking off at LAX. An air traffic controller can be heard yelling at the private jet’s pilot(s), “Stop, stop, stop!” The rolling jet then came to a sudden stop, just as Delta Flight 471 came rolling up the runway at full speed to lift off.
The FAA, which is investigating the incident, told The Los Angeles Times, “The jet never crossed the runway edge line.” Following the nearly harrowing incident, the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team went on to play the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) team the following day, according to ESPN. However, they lost to the Bruins 65-62.
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