A Lufthansa Boeing 747 was about to depart when a South African Airways A320 crossed the runway at Johannesburg OR Tambo Airport, South Africa.
Friday, February 23 2024, the Lufthansa flight LH573 to Frankfurt was departing Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport.
The Boeing 747-8 (registration D-ABYJ) lined up on runway 03L at 20:16 local time (18:16 UTC) but the crew decided to delay the takeoff due to storm.
The pilotes noticed thunderstorm to the north before takeoff with their onboard weather radar, which only works in the direction the aircraft points to.
The South African Airways flight SA422 landed few minutes earlier from runway 03R from Port Elizabeth.
Lufthansa 747 almost collides with a South African Airways A320 on the runway at Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa. pic.twitter.com/TaPcVaq8Wz
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) February 24, 2024
The Airbus A320 (registration ZS-SZE) crossed the runway 03L in front of the Lufthansa aircraft.
According to flightradar24 data, the Boeing 747-8 reached 29 kts before vacating the runway then departed at 20:42 for a 9 hours and 50 minutes flight to Frankfurt.
A controller on duty explains AIRLIVE the Lufthansa flight was allowed to taxi to vacate the runway to not depart into the storm while the SAA flight was allowed to cross the runway. He adds information displayed by FR24 are not 100% accurate. He confirms there was no runway incursion.