Gonzaga Men’s Hoops Plane Narrowly Avoids LAX Runway Collision

The Gonzaga University Men's Basketball Team had a heart-pumping incident at LAX, or the Los Angeles Airport Friday afternoon. (Video and image courtesy of Airline Videos on YouTube).

  The Bulldogs were in town to play UCLA on Saturday

Around 4:20 PM according to MyNorthwest.com, the Bulldogs charter plane, flown by Key Lime Air (who transports the team) was taxiing toward an intersection with another runway, when the air traffic controller told them "stop stop stop!"

The plane, chartered by Denver-based company Key Lime Air, was told to stop because it got too close to another aircraft that was taking off.

A video posted on YouTube by Airline Videos shows the incident, and you can hear the chatter as well as other voices questioning that they called the plane "Key Lime." But, that is the name of the charter company.

MyNorthwest.com reports Key Lime is fully cooperating and the FAA is looking into the potential runway incursion. The other aircraft was a Delta Airlines flight bound for Atlanta.

Get our free mobile app

According to MyNorthwest.com, Key Lime released a statement:

“Key Lime Air takes pride in its pilots and training model, a regimen that demands the highest competency in the industry today. Safety of those entrusted to us is our highest priority,” Jon Coleman, Senior Vice President of Key Lime Air, said in a prepared statement. “We are working within our own Safety Management System and with the FAA to determine the facts of the event and will respond accordingly.”

The Bulldogs ended up losing their game Saturday in a close battle to UCLA, 65-62.