Close call at Miami airport: Lufthansa 747 forced to brake hard after American Airlines 787 crossed its path

Near collision on the taxiway

On Thursday, November 5, a Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 taxiing toward the runway at Miami International Airport was forced to brake suddenly to avoid a collision with another aircraft (O włos od katastrofy w Miami. Samolot Lufthansy musiał "gwałtownie hamować" – Podróże Onet) (Blisko kolizji podczas kołowania w Miami. B787-8 AA przeciął drogę kołującemu B747-8 Lufthansy – dlapilota.pl) (Niebezpieczny incydent na lotnisku w Miami. Samolot Lufthansy musiał nagle zahamować – WP Turystyka). The Lufthansa crew was operating flight LH463 to Frankfurt. The aircraft involved in the Lufthansa's registration is D-ABYT.

The other aircraft was an American Airlines Boeing 787-8 that had arrived from Philadelphia as flight AA1155. While taxiing, it crossed onto the Lufthansa's route. According to reports, it had been instructed by air traffic control to wait at a designated holding point before the crossing.

What the radio exchanges show

According to the reports, the Lufthansa crew informed air traffic control that the aircraft had to stop while still moving at taxi speed. The pilot was heard saying the situation had been very close to an accident. A recording of the exchange between the crew and the tower later circulated online.

The reports also suggest that the American Airlines crew did not stop at the point they were instructed to hold. Simple Flying, cited by one outlet, described the sequence of radio calls between controllers and both crews.

Status of the investigation

No injuries or damage have been reported in the available coverage. The sources do not say whether either airline has opened an internal review or whether aviation authorities are investigating the incident.