Senator Tammy Duckworth says Delta crew saved lives during close call at Logan Airport

Senator Tammy Duckworth on Tuesday praised a Delta Airlines crew for “saving the lives” of everyone on board a plane that had a near miss at Boston’s Logan International Airport last weekend.

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Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, delivered her remarks during a Senate committee hearing on aviation safety, according to footage posted to C-SPAN.

Around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, air traffic control “cleared American Airlines Flight 3161 to take off moments before” the Delta flight “was about to touch down on an intersecting runway,” she said.

The Delta crew acted quickly to avoid a catastrophe, she said.

“The crew of the Delta flight spotted the American Boeing 737 and executed a go-around to avoid a collision, saving the lives of the 129 passengers and six crew members on board,” Duckworth said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday it is investigating the “runway incursion.”

According to Air Traffic Control audio posted to LiveATC.net, a controller reported that the Delta flight would be aborting its landing and circling around.

“Delta .. uhh … 2351 going around because of American,” the controller said.

Around the same time, a different controller expressed confusion as he addressed the crew of the American Airlines flight.

“American 3161, where you going? You’re cleared for take off, 3161,” the controller said.

The Delta flight was arriving from Dallas, and the American Airlines flight was departing for Charlotte, N.C.

After the go-around, controllers twice told the Delta flight to “maintain 3,000,” as it stayed in the air before eventually landing, according to the audio.

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A Delta Airlines spokesperson saidMonday that the crew “received an advisory from onboard systems of potential traffic” while the plane was descending.

There were 129 passengers and six crew members on the Delta flight, who all deplaned safely, company spokesperson Anthony L. Black said in a statement.

“Delta aircraft are equipped with technology to warn crews of potential conflicts with other aircraft and our pilots train extensively to respond,” Black said.

An FAA public affairs specialist, Crystal Essiaw, saidthe Delta flight performed a go-around “because another aircraft was departing from an intersecting runway.”

Essiaw said the go-around is a safe and routine procedure performed “at the discretion” of a pilot to “maintain safe operations.”

During Tuesday’s hearing, Duckworth said that near misses are occurring with increasing frequency at US airports.

“These close calls remind us of the tight margin for the calculations made by pilots and air traffic controllers,” Duckworth said. “In far too many of these incidents, the difference between a close call and a deadly disaster has come down to a single highly trained and professional individual taking emergency action.”

Material from previous Globe coverage and from Globe wire services was used in this report.

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