Runway incursion at LAX

In March 1977, in what remains the world’s deadliest aviation accident, two passenger jumbo jets collided on a runway at Tenerife, Canary Islands, causing the deaths of 583 passengers and crew. The deadliest U.S. runway incursion accident occurred in August 2006 when Comair flight 5191, a regional jet, crashed after taking off from the wrong runway, killing 49 of the 50 onboard.

As an example of a serious incident, in July 2006, at O’Hare International Airport, a United 737 passenger jet and an Atlas Air 747 cargo airplane nearly collided. The 747 had been cleared to land and was taxiing on the runway towards the cargo area when the 737 was cleared to take off on the intersecting runway, over the 747. The pilot of the United 737 passenger jet took off early to avoid a collision with the 747. This collision was avoided by about 35 feet.