In yesterday's incident, the FedEx mechanic was taking an Airbus A300 to a hangar. The route required him to cross an active runway, where JetBlue Flight 441, bound for Tampa with 124 passengers and six crew members, was about to take off. At 7:55 a.m., air traffic controllers told the mechanic to ''hold short," or stop, before crossing the runway.
Peters said the mechanic, who was certified to move the airplane for engine maintenance, verbally acknowledged the tower's instructions, but did not stop. Air traffic controllers canceled the takeoff clearance for the JetBlue plane before it began rolling.
As the control tower tried frantically to make radio contact with the FedEx jet, Peters said the mechanic did not acknowledge the radio messages until after he had crossed the runway. ''He said: 'Yeah, I know. I crossed the runway,' or something like that," Peters said.
The FAA said it is investigating the event as a ''surface incident" and not a pilot deviation, because a pilot was not at the controls of the FedEx jet.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...r_runway_plan/