In aviation, we see a high number of close calls — for every disaster, there are a countless number of near misses. We’re also aware of these more than in the past, given the increasing popularity of flight tracking software, plus the public’s interest in aviation incidents.
Along those lines, yesterday two aircraft had a terrifyingly close call in Mexico, as reported by The Aviation Herald, and one certainly wonders what went wrong for this to happen…
Aeromexico jet lands as Delta jet attempts to take off
This incident happened early on the morning of Monday, July 21, 2025, at Mexico City International Airport Benito Juarez (MEX), and involves two aircraft:
- A Delta Boeing 737-800 with the registration code N3766, operating flight DL590 to Atlanta (ATL)
- An Aeromexico Connect Embraer E190 with the registration code XA-ALP, operating flight AM1631 from Aguascalientes (AGU)
Air traffic controllers cleared the Aeromexico jet to land on runway 5R, while at the same time, clearing the Delta jet to line up on the runway and hold, and then to commence its takeoff roll. Obviously it’s normal for the same runway to be used for takeoffs and landings, but not at exactly the same time.
Runway 5R is really long — it’s 12,800 feet (3,900 meters), due largely to Mexico City’s high altitude. One important thing to understand is that there’s a displaced threshold on the runway, meaning that planes can only land around 1,700 feet (520 meters) beyond the point where they can take off.
If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, below is a cockpit landing video from the parallel runway (unrelated to the incident), and the area behind the green set of lights would be the displaced runway threshold.
What essentially happened here is that the Aeromexico aircraft overflew the Delta aircraft that was on the runway, and then still landed, even though there was another plane occupying the runway. Fortunately the Boeing aircraft rejected its takeoff at around 60 knots, preventing a catastrophe. The Delta flight ended up returning to the gate, and then departing again around two hours later.
Below you can see just how close the planes were to one another.
How could an incident like this happen?
While we see a lot of close calls, I’d say this is among the worst we’ve seen in quite some time. After all, on a runway, there’s only one direction to go. It’s a bit different than when you have a plane crossing a runway without authorization, or a close call in the air, where it’s still unlikely that the planes would actually collide. On a runway, though, there’s a lot less ability to avoid disaster.
Obviously something like this raises several questions. For one, how could the air traffic controllers clear an aircraft to land and depart from the same runway at the same time? Was it a brain fart? Was there some other miscommunication?
For that matter, did the Aeromexico pilots not see the Delta jet lined up on the runway they were landing on? I suppose the two theories there are that the displaced threshold might complicate that, especially when pilots might be focused on where they plan to land. Furthermore, this runway faces the east, and it was early in the morning, so it’s possible the pilots had the sun in their eyes, limiting visibility.
It’s not yet clear if the Delta pilots stopped their takeoff roll because air traffic controllers told them to, or if it’s because they saw the Aeromexico aircraft right in front of them. Either way, kudos to them for aborting their takeoff, and avoiding disaster.
Bottom line
A Delta Boeing 737 and Aeromexico Embraer E190 had a scary incident at Mexico City Airport, whereby one plane was cleared to land and the other plane was cleared to take off from the same runway at the same time.
This appears to be a major mistake by air traffic control, though one also wonders why the Aeromexico plane landed on the runway when it should’ve seen a Delta plane on the same runway. Thank goodness the Delta pilots aborted their takeoff roll in time.
What do you make of this Mexico City Airport close call?
