‘Terrifying’: Passenger recalls moment Logan Airport flight came to sudden stop to avoid collision

BOSTON — A passenger on an American Airlines flight out of Logan Airport is recalling the moment his plane nearly collided with another plane, prompting yet another federal “close call” investigation.

“It’s terrifying, it’s terrifying,” said passenger, Cosmo Rowell.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement the incident happened shortly before 1 p.m. on Monday when an air traffic controller told an American Airlines pilot to cancel a takeoff because a Spirit Airlines flight was close to a line on the runway where planes are supposed to stop.

“As soon as you start to take off, you get these G-forces where you pitted in the back of your seat and you start to get used to that and then they just hit the breaks,” said Rowell.

The FAA said the controller made the decision “out of an abundance of caution” and said an investigation was ongoing as of Tuesday afternoon.

In a separate statement, American Airlines said its flight scheduled to travel from Boston to Chicago returned to its gate prior to departure following a canceled takeoff clearance that was issued. American Airlines said the flight later took off around 2:30 p.m.

“The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority and we apologize for the delay in our customer’s travel plans,” American Airlines said.

This was not the first time the FAA has had to investigate a close call at Logan Airport.

Back on February 27, a JetBlue pilot narrowly avoided a collision with a private charter jet on the runway.

And on March 6, a United plane clipped a parked plane while pushing back from its gate.

The FAA announced Monday they are investing more than $100 million to avoid runway incursions, but Boston Logan Airport is not receiving any of those funds, according to officials.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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