Interruptions and multitasking led to distractions that caused two well rested pilots operating a B-777 airliner to mistakenly cross a runway occupied by another airplane taking off at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
In the evening hours of Jan. 13, 2023, air traffic controllers cleared a B-737 with 159 passengers and crew for takeoff on Runway 4L at JFK. Twenty seconds after the 737 began its takeoff roll, a B-777 destined for London’s Heathrow Airport with 149 passengers and crew crossed the same runway without a clearance.