A Delta Air Lines flight crew aborted their landing at Boston Logan International Airport on June 20 after spotting an American Airlines Boeing 737 accelerating across an intersecting runway directly in their path — with an aviation safety expert estimating the two aircraft came within approximately 300 feet of each other.
Delta Flight 2351, arriving from Dallas on an Airbus A319 carrying 129 passengers and six crew members, had been cleared to land on Runway 33L when a tower controller simultaneously cleared American Airlines Flight 3161 to depart from Runway 27 — an intersecting runway — without adequate separation. The two runways cross roughly 2,300 to 2,600 feet from the landing threshold. As the Delta crew was seconds from touchdown, they spotted the American jet accelerating from the right, immediately initiated a go-around, and climbed more than 2,000 feet in seconds.
An audio recording of the tower frequency captured the controller asking the American Airlines crew “American, where are you going?” — at which point another pilot on frequency corrected the controller, noting that takeoff clearance had already been issued. The Delta crew looped back into the pattern and landed safely on the second approach.
The FAA has opened a high-priority formal investigation. Both airlines are cooperating.
The incident adds to a deeply troubling pattern. In January 2025, a regional jet collided with a U.S. Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport, killing 67. In March 2026, an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 struck a Port Authority fire truck on a LaGuardia runway, killing both pilots. As of March 2026, the FAA had identified more than 150 U.S. airports as runway incursion hot spots.
Why It Matters: The system worked — the Delta crew did exactly what they’re trained to do, and everyone walked away. But a controller clearing two aircraft onto intersecting runways without adequate separation at one of America’s busiest airports is precisely the kind of error that has ended badly before. This investigation matters.
Source: Delta Crew Averts Disaster at Boston Logan in Last-Second Go-Around
