After several near-misses on airport runways, a tech company revives work on a hazard-warning system

Honeywell test pilot Joe Duval pulls a Boeing 757 test aircraft out of a landing approach demonstrating runway hazard warning systems over the airport in Tyler, Texas, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. — AP

DALLAS: As a Delta Air Lines jet began roaring down a runway, an air traffic controller at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport suddenly blurted out an expletive, then ordered the pilots to stop their takeoff roll.

The controller saw an American Airlines plane mistakenly crossing the same runway, into the path of the accelerating Delta jet. JFK is one of only 35 US airports with the equipment to track planes and vehicles on the ground. The system alerted the airport control tower to the danger, possibly saving lives last year.