A Learjet crew took off from an intersecting runway at Boston/Logan International and crossed in front of a landing JetBlue Embraer E190 after incorrectly believing they had been given clearance, an NTSB report has found.
The near miss – which occurred on February 27 – took place when the airliner was at approximately 30ft during the landing flare, close to the point where both runways intersect.
According to the investigator’s final report, the HopAJet-operated type – registered N280LJ (c/n 60-280) – had been instructed to line up and wait (LUAW) on runway 09, while the airliner N179JB (c/n 19000006) had been cleared to land on runway 04R.
“[N280LJ’s] flight crew read back the controller’s instructions to LUAW, however they began the take-off roll instead,” the report said.
The airport surface detection equipment alerted air traffic controllers to the conflict and the landing aircraft was issued go around instructions.
In a statement to investigators, the captain of the Learjet said while the crew had heard and responded to the LUAW clearance, “[in] my mind I was [cleared] for take-off”.
The first officer told the enquiry: “As we [lined up] I asked my work partner if we were cleared for take-off, and [they] said yes.”
While in th…
