LOS ANGELES, CA — A close call between a commercial passenger aircraft and a charter plane transporting a college basketball team at LAX has sparked an ongoing federal inquiry.
Federal aviation officials are investigating the event that took place on Friday around 4:30 p.m. when a charter plane carrying the Gonzaga University men’s basketball squad landed at LAX in preparation for their game against UCLA scheduled for Saturday.
As the charter plane landed, air traffic controllers instructed it to stop due to its proximity to a departing Delta Air Lines flight, as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Nevertheless, the Key Lime Air-operated charter plane moved forward past the designated hold point, leading an air traffic controller to repeatedly yell “stop” at the pilot, as shown in video and audio shared by Airline Videos Live.
The aircraft ultimately halted without infringing on the runway, allowing the Delta flight to take off without issues, according to the FAA.
“We acknowledge that the incident at LAX is under investigation and will examine the information as it becomes available,” Gonzaga stated in a release to the New York Times. “Our team members on the flight were not aware of the circumstances as they unfolded, and we are thankful that the situation concluded safely for everyone.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
