A flight bound for Paris had to abort its takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Wednesday, when another aircraft crossed the runway. On Wednesday, April 8, Air France was operating AF25 from Los Angeles to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG). Air traffic controllers had cleared the Boeing 777-300ER for takeoff when another aircraft, which did not have clearance, turned onto the runway.

The incident is now under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, and audio recordings obtained by NBC4 noted the aircraft had to reject its takeoff while under power on the runway, after the pilots were alerted to the incursion by runway warning lights.

An Unauthorized Gulfstream Jet Entered The Runway Without Permission

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A Gulfstream jet crossed the hold short line at LAX and entered the path of the Air France flight. Recordings of the communication between the pilots and air traffic control noted that the Gulfstream G650ER had just landed after arriving from San Francisco International Airport(SFO) and entered the runway without authorization.

The pilot of the Gulfstream was instructed to hold short on runway 24L, which was acknowledged; however, he still crossed the hold short line at one of America’s busiest airports. For the Air France 777, it was able to slow safely and eventually was able to re-attempt its take-off and depart without incident.

No passengers were injured in the incident, and the near-miss continues to be investigated by the FAA. This comes just weeks after a fatal incident at LaGuardia Airport (LGA), where an Air Canada Express flight collided with an airport fire truck, as the plane came in to land from Montreal.

Air France Flight 25 Briefly Delayed

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Looking at data from Flightradar24, Air France maintains multiple daily flights between Los Angeles and Paris, and Air France flight 25 is an early evening departure that is scheduled to push back at 6:25 pm. Served with the airline’s 777-300ER, the flight takes around ten hours to the City of Love.

On Wednesday, April 8, the flight had pushed back from the gate at 6:45 pm and had made its way to runway 24L to prepare for departure. As the flight was granted clearance to depart, it began to accelerate when the Gulfstream mistakenly crossed over the hold short line. Pilots onboard the Air France flight were quick to react and were able to decelerate and avoid a collision.

Once the runway was appropriately cleared, the Air France flight was able to re-attempt its departure and was airborne shortly after. The flight continued to Paris and arrived nine hours and 57 minutes later, touching down back in Europe at approximately 1:42 pm.

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F-GZNP: Air France Aircraft Involved

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The Air France flight involved in the incident was an 11-year-old Boeing 777-328ER. The aircraft, which was delivered to Air France back in 2015, is leased from Japanese JP Lease Products & Services. The plane took its first test flight back on March 19, 2015, before being delivered to the SkyTeam carrier on April 23, 2015.

Since then, it has been a loyal operator for the French flag carrier and is configured to carry a total of 312 passengers across four classes (four first class, 60 business, 44 premium economy, and 204 economy). The plane is powered by two General Electric GE90-115B engines. Further characteristics of the plane below, as per ch-aviation:

On Wednesday, just an hour after the Air France and Gulfstream incident occurred, a Frontier Airlines flight also had a close call at LAX, when the pilot of the Airbus A321 had to slam on the aircraft’s brakes as two service trucks got in the ultra-low-cost carrier’s path. This incident has also been referred to the FAA and remains under investigation.