An investigation is underway after a private jet carrying the Gonzaga men’s college basketball team was ordered to stop taxiing toward a departing Delta flight on an active runway at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Friday.
The Embraer E135 jet, operated by Colorado-based Key Lime Air, had arrived from Spokane, Washington, and was taxiing towards the runway when air traffic controllers directed it to hold short of crossing the runway. The jet proceeded to cross the hold bars but was stopped before it reached the runway edge line.
According to footage shared by Airline Videos Live, an air traffic controller can be heard calling for the jet to “stop, stop, stop” as the Delta flight takes off. However, both planes appeared to operate normally after the incident.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that the jet never actually crossed onto the active runway and issued a statement saying that air traffic controllers directed Key Lime Air Flight 563 to hold short of crossing a runway because another aircraft was taking off from the same runway.
Gonzaga University said that the men’s team was not affected by the incident, with their spokesperson stating that they were unaware of the situation as it occurred and are grateful that it ended safely for all. The university went on to play UCLA the following day, losing 65-62.
Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/5061057-gonzaga-basketball-team-jet-lax