An American Airlines flight was forced to abort takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Sunday after a cargo aircraft entered the same runway without authorization, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The incident occurred around 10:35 p.m. local time when AeroLogic flight 619 was taxiing to its gate and crossed in front of American Airlines flight 2453, which had been cleared for takeoff by air traffic control.
Close Call at High Speed
The American Airlines jet was traveling at approximately 154 mph and was nearly airborne when the controller issued the immediate abort instruction.
At their closest point, the two aircraft were roughly 5,200 feet (1 mile) apart, according to the FAA. Aviation expert Steve Ganyard noted the critical role of LAX’s long runway in preventing disaster:
“What was fortunate here is that the runway the American jet was taking off on is almost two and a half miles long,” Ganyard said. “There was plenty of room for the American jet to abort; they only got within about a mile. If the runway had been shorter or at a different airport, this could have been a tragedy.”
Flight Rescheduled
American Airlines confirmed that the Boston-bound flight later departed on another aircraft. In a statement, the airline said:
“We thank our crew members for their quick action and our customers for their understanding.”
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FAA Data Shows Increasing Pilot Deviations
According to FAA data, there have been 101 runway incursions caused by pilot deviations in 2025. One of the most serious occurred in March at Chicago’s Midway International Airport, where a Southwest Airlines jet aborted landing after a business jet entered the runway without authorization.
