- Date
- January 13, 2023, 20:44 local (Jan 14, 2023, 01:44 UTC)
- Place
- Queens, NY · KJFK
- Injuries
- 308 uninjured
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Defining events
- Takeoff: Runway incursion veh/AC/personTaxi: Runway incursion veh/AC/person
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report May 29, 2024
- Report
- Board-adopted by Notation
- Investigation class
- Class 1
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Parties
- Boeing, Allied Pilots Association, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, FAA
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- Case key
- 106577
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
The American Airlines flight 106 (AAL106) crew’s surface navigation error due to distractions caused by their performance of concurrent operational tasks during taxi, which resulted in a loss of situational awareness. Contributing to the incident was the air traffic control tower team’s nondetection of the AAL106 crew’s deviation from taxi instructions while performing concurrent operational tasks; the timing of the runway status light system, which activated too late to prevent the AAL106 crew from crossing the runway hold short line; and American Airlines’ lack of adequate risk controls to prevent concurrent flight crew tasks from leading to distraction, loss of situational awareness, and deviation from an authorized taxi clearance. Reducing the severity of the incident, and likely preventing an accident, was the activation of the ASDE-X warning in the air traffic control tower and the local controller’s prompt cancellation of DAL1943’s takeoff clearance.
Findings · 12
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
N914DU · Boeing 737-900ER
N754AN · Boeing 777-223
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
N914DU · Boeing 737-900ER
N754AN · Boeing 777-223
Analysis
On January 13, 2023, about 2044 eastern standard time, the flight crew of American Airlines (AAL) flight 106, a Boeing 777-200, N754AN, crossed runway 4L on taxiway J without air traffic control (ATC) clearance at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Queens, New York, causing the flight crew of Delta Air Lines (DAL) flight 1943, a Boeing 737-900, N914DU, to abort their takeoff roll on runway 4L. None of the 6 crew and 153 passengers on DAL1943, nor the 12 crew and 137 passengers on AAL106, were injured, and there was no damage to either airplane. AAL106 operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 scheduled international passenger flight from JFK to London Heathrow International Airport (LHR), London, United Kingdom. DAL1943 was a CFR Part 121 scheduled international passenger flight from JFK to Santo Domingo (SDQ), Dominican Republic. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the airport at the time of the incident.
Aircraft · 2
- Registration
- N914DU
- Reported as
- Boeing 737-900ER
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 62782
- Built
- 2019
- Engines
- CFM Intl CFM56-7B27E/B, 27,300 lbs thrust, turbo fanCFM Intl CFM56-7B27E/B, 27,300 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Delta Air Lines
- Registered owner
- Delta Air Lines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Destination
- SDQ · Santo Domingo, OF
- Airport
- KJFK · John F. Kennedy International Airport, runway 4L, 12,079 × 200 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
- Registration
- N754AN
- Reported as
- Boeing 777-223
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30262
- Built
- 2001
- Airframe hours
- 80,362
- Engines
- Rolls-Royc TRENT 892-17 W/QEC, 90,000 lbs thrust, turbo fanRolls-Royc TRENT 892-17 W/QEC, 90,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- American Airlines
- Registered owner
- American Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · January 13, 2023
- Destination
- LHR · London, OF
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Heads up display, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 320° at 17 knots, gusting 25
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 4 °F, dew point -4 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.70 inHg
- Observed at
- JFK
Docket · 33
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 29, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 739 MB in all.