LAX air traffic control tells charter plane taxiing towards active runway to ‘stop, stop stop’

Officials are investigating after a potential runway incursion was prevented at LAX on Friday afternoon, Dec. 27.

Around 4:30 p.m., air traffic controllers told taxiing Key Lime Air Flight 563 to stop before crossing a Los Angeles International Airport runway because a second plane was taking off from the runway, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

Key Lime Air’s Embraer E135 jet continued to cross the hold bars, and air traffic controllers told the pilots to stop. The jet didn’t cross the runway edge line, according to FAA.

YouTube account AIRLINE VIDEOS was livestreaming flights in and out of LAX along with audio from air traffic controllers, when the situation took place.

Footage from the livestream showed a Delta Air Lines flight preparing to take off as the charter plane from Key Lime Air, which had just landed, taxied to its gate.

“Key Lime, stop, stop stop,” an air traffic controller said on the livestream before the plane came to a rest. The Delta plane appeared to take off without incident.

NBC Los Angeles reported the charter jet was carrying the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team.

The FAA is investigating the situation.

Key Lime Air didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The airline is working with the FAA and its own safety management system to learn what happened and respond accordingly, said Jon Coleman, senior vice president of Key Lime Air, in a statement to NBC 4.

“Key Lime Air takes pride in its pilots and training model, a regimen that demands the highest competency in the industry today,” Coleman told NBC 4. “Safety of those entrusted to us is our highest priority.”