Private Jet Pilot Blamed a "Stuffy Nose" For Taking Off Without Permission Which Nearly Caused A Disaster Collision With a JetBlue Plane At Logan Airport
Boston Globe. Getty Images.The entire airline industry has turned into a shit show of late. Whether it's on the booking side of things where seemingly every other flight is canceled or the actual flying part, things are a mess. Take this latest example from Logan International Airport…
A JetBlue flight landing at Logan International Airport in Boston nearly smashed into a private jet which took off without permission, the National Transportation Safety Board has revealed.
The LearJet's 63-year-old captain - flying for Hop-A-Jet, a Florida-based private charter company - had been told to lineup and read back the air traffic controller's instruction. But the pilot 'then began the takeoff-roll instead'.
To get a better idea of how close this was, a person in the jump seat snagged a picture just seconds away from certain death. We also have this map that shows the position of both planes.
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Holy fucking shit. Some of your worst nightmares while flying coming to life. Kinda crazy we just sit back in our seats and hope for the best while stuff like this could be happening.
"Ladies and gentleman this your captain speaking, yeah turns out the reason we didn't land just now was because we almost died. Yes, you and your fellow passengers sitting next to you were nearly incinerated because of someone else's fuck up. We hope you've enjoyed the flight up until this moment, but in case you didn't our flight attendants will be coming around with a survey you can fill out to get a $50 credit on your next flight. We'll keep you updated when we're going to make our next attempt landing in the coming minutes."
So what did the other pilot chalk this error up to? How about a checks notes STUFFY NOSE.
He later told investigators: 'I cannot understand what happened to me during the clearance, the only thing that comes to my mind is that the cold temperature in Boston affected me, I was not feeling completely well and had a stuffed nose. My apologies.'
That honestly reads like it's from the Onion.
Listen, no one likes a stuffy nose. It's just a giant inconvenience. That being said, we cannot be using a stuffy nose as an excuse for not following through orders from air traffic control and nearly causing a full-on catastrophic disaster claiming the lives of two planes' worth of people. A runny nose? Different story. I can't do anything with a runny nose.
Want to use a stuffy nose as an excuse for not wanting to go out at night? No problem. Maybe you don't want to workout with a clogged up nostril. Sure thing. Failure to obey a direct command as a pilot who's in charge of a ton of lives? No sir.
And how about this little tidbit? He didn't realize the near miss until landing in Florida. Completely oblivious.
He only learned about the near miss after arriving at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. The private jet's crew was notified 'they had taken off without authorization and caused an airplane that had been cleared to land on runway 04 to execute a go-around, passing about 400′ above them.'
Shades of Ron Burgandy not knowing he told the entire city of San Diego to go fuck themselves live on the air.
Anyways, shout out to the pilot who was trying to land and found a way to pull up, avoiding the disaster with quick thinking. I don't know about you guys, but there's only one airline I trust and consistently fly when possible and it's Jetblue.