A UPS freight aircraft was forced to execute an emergency maneuver at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport early Tuesday morning when a smaller aircraft unexpectedly entered the runway during its landing approach.
Air traffic control urgently shouted “Skylab 25, stop!” to the smaller aircraft before immediately directing the UPS jet to execute a go-around procedure, preventing what could have been a catastrophic collision at the major shipping hub. Audio recordings of the incident were made available through LiveATC.net.
The near-miss occurred at approximately 12:10 a.m. on Tuesday, with no injuries reported from either aircraft.
Following the cargo jet’s successful evasive action, the controller questioned “Skylab 25, what are you doing?”
The pilot of the small plane replied “Skylab 25, yeah, sorry about that.”
Federal Aviation Administration officials have launched an investigation into the incident.
This close call adds to a concerning pattern of similar aviation incidents occurring nationwide. Just days earlier, a Frontier Airlines aircraft nearly struck two ground vehicles that crossed its path while taxiing at Los Angeles International Airport. Another incident this week in Charlotte, North Carolina involved an American Airlines pilot who had to apply emergency brakes when a truck crossed a taxiway.
The Louisville airport was also the site of a tragic UPS crash last November, when a cargo plane went down after an engine separated during takeoff, resulting in 14 fatalities. The National Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday it will conduct investigative hearings beginning May 19 to examine the causes of that deadly accident.
Last month at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, an Air Canada aircraft collided with a fire truck that had received clearance to cross the runway just seconds before the plane’s landing, killing both pilots and injuring dozens of passengers.
