A Frontier plane had to slam on the brakes today at LAX to avoid hitting ground vehicles cutting him off
Posted by IndicatedAirSpeed@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 86 comments
Video made by me
Longwaytofall@reddit
I was cutoff at LAX in a similar fashion once. The airport ops took it very seriously. The airport manager called me the next day, filled a bunch of reports and poured through the footage to get the bottom of it. I’m sure the same will happen here.
Competitive-Fee6160@reddit
you made this? appreciate the accurate non-ai captions
IndicatedAirSpeed@reddit (OP)
Yup, had to listen more than once to some transmissions to get it mostly right. :D
Bermanator@reddit
What software is that?
IndicatedAirSpeed@reddit (OP)
That's just CapCut, as basic as it gets.
The Frontier plane flying by at the beginning is an overlay where I added two keyframes (one at the beginning on the very right side and one on the very left side to create a sort of flyby transition with the text leaving via a right to left animation)
The rest is just text and animations adjusted to the speed of the person speaking at that moment.
DetectiveMulderFBI@reddit
Very cool
Pizza_Coffee@reddit
Thank you
trackday21@reddit
Cameras everywhere baby.
MShabo@reddit
Was gonna say. They’ll be found. 100%. When you get your SIDA the first thing they teach you is to yield to the planes. My teacher taught us to “haul ass to the grass” if you have to. Airport ops would much rather tow you from the soft grass than the alternative.
Cyborg_rat@reddit
Don't need a course to know that, planes should be first.
Beach_Bum_273@reddit
Mass has the right of way
04BluSTi@reddit
Lug nut rule
MShabo@reddit
You’d be surprised how often it happens.
K2step70@reddit
Oh, I wonder if Captain Steeeve will talk about this on a future video? Would be interesting to hear his take.
Competitive-Fee6160@reddit
lol is this sarcasm? cant imagine ever being interested to hear captain steve’s take on anything
K2step70@reddit
Nope! His videos are interesting.
_deffer_@reddit
As someone who has seen them but is put off by almost everything he says and does, can you explain why you like it?
They get lots of views, so I assume it's a me thing, but I don't know what others find enjoyable about them.
K2step70@reddit
It incidents described from a veteran pilot. A pilot who has knowledge of the airports and how they operate. He incorporates his knowledge and lets the viewers know how pilots are trained to handle the situations. He also lets viewers know some of the terms talked about between ATC and the pilots.
_deffer_@reddit
I like the information. I appreciate the information. I'm the type of weirdo who reads the final incident reports from crashes.
My biggest issue is Steve. I don't know what it is, but he is not enjoyable for me.
K2step70@reddit
Too perky? The way he stretches his name out?
unclefire@reddit
I struggle to watch his videos. He just babbles on way too much. Juan brown is much easier to watch.
TogaPower@reddit
Have seen ground vehicles acting like idiots multiple times. Surprising this doesn’t happen more often.
And yes, I do absolutely believe the fire truck involved with the Air Canada CRJ probably didn’t do his due diligence in visually checking the runway was clear (or the stopbar lights) once he got his clearance.
Sharin_the_Groove@reddit
Not saying this is the case for all airports, but the two I worked/trained at, the ARFF guys had massive issues with complacency. Getting them to take their annual driver training seriously was a CHORE. They often lapses in their recurrence requirements.
KrisTheHuman@reddit
If they can't take a job like that seriously, fire them. Why is that so hard?
gottatrusttheengr@reddit
Union
KnowledgeSafe3160@reddit
Well the FAA training video I saw says if the red runway status lights are red even if clearance is given “the ground vehicles must stop and advise air traffic control that they are stopped due to red lights”
YoshidaEri@reddit
I completely agree with putting the most blame on the fire truck. ATC first told them to stop 9 seconds before the collision. 9 seconds doesn't seem like a lot, but run it on a stopwatch. It's enough time to hear and respond to "stop".
notdansky@reddit
all this debate about runway lights, if you were a driver wouldn't you also freaking look down the runway? im no pilot and no expert, but i've seen so many pilots call out clear left / clear right entering the runway after visually checking
WigglingWeiner99@reddit
Normalization of deviance. They probably never look to double check, and they have always made it through safely. Until they didn't.
KnowledgeSafe3160@reddit
100%. Imagine a normal fire truck blowing through an intersection without looking when they have the red light. It’s insane.
Dry-One4182@reddit
TIL about runway status lights. The international airport I worked at didn’t have those.
TogaPower@reddit
As you and everyone else should. Tired of this “let’s not blame” bullshit just because people are afraid of hurt feelings.
You can call out major screwups without also thinking that said screwups were intentional or criminal. People seem to forget this.
iteachearthsci@reddit
I thought the runway entrance lights were not in operation in the Air Canada collision.
KnowledgeSafe3160@reddit
You can see them red as the truck enters and then off as the collision happens in the video.
glhughes@reddit
Those lights are an automated system, so yes, completely independent of the controller.
It's hard to tell from the video clips I've seen but the truck might have been too far out to see those lights.
Chadwickvonvickter@reddit
Pilots are also required to deny crossing or takeoff clearance if the status lights are illuminated.
Neither-Way-4889@reddit
Spoken like someone who doesn't have any experience operating at an airport at night. Unlike during daytime, it is extremely difficult to judge the relative speed of an object going towards or away from you.
To the crew of that firetruck, it may have looked like an aircraft that was stationary or lined up on the runway and not moving, and they likely wouldn't have been able to sense the closure rate until it was too late.
Either way, we won't know until the NTSB report comes out, and it is extremely offensive for you to come out here trying to place the blame on somebody without understanding how things work in the real world.
Thequiet01@reddit
Doesn’t matter if they saw the plane or not - they should not have crossed the red stop bar.
glhughes@reddit
Did they see the red stop lights? Were they on when they started crossing?
IAgreeWithLincoln@reddit
Sounds like we don't need an investigation then. Reddit figured it out!
TogaPower@reddit
I absolutely do have experience operating at night at large airfields and in large aircraft.
I’m sorry if I’m not willing to make excuses for carelessness. I don’t care if that’s “offensive”.
It’s hilarious how whenever someone calls this out, the response from people like you is to automatically assume that said person has zero experience. Some of us are just okay with calling out fuck ups when they happen.
Did the truck driver intend to get anyone killed that day? Of course not, but he screwed up. Plain and simple. And plenty of pilots and ground operators agree with me on that. Yes, including those that have done their jobs at night!
And I know it’s more difficult to judge relative speeds at night, which is why it’s all the more imperative to STOP when there is doubt.
AddlePatedBadger@reddit
Or we could just wait for the detailed investigation to come out before assigning blame. It's the one fucking industry where they actually do thorough and accurate investigations and publish them for all to see. No need to be all judge jury and executioner based on hearsay and guesswork.
TogaPower@reddit
Nah
glhughes@reddit
For sure.
On clear nights I have a pretty good view of the southern approach to Sea-Tac from on top of a hill about 15 miles away from the airport. I can see the lights of 5-6 planes on the glideslope to land. It looks like they're just hanging there in the air. Of course they're moving at 120+ kts but you wouldn't know it.
Condurum@reddit
As a sailor, this tracks. At night near urban areas there’s just so many lights going on, and shapes are so dark in comparison.
Unless you know something is there, it doesn’t «pop out» to you visually. Requires high conscious concentration to look around for dangers.
notathr0waway1@reddit
I would argue that if you are operating any vehicle at an airport and crossing active runways, you absolutely need to act at a level of "high conscious concentration" or higher. If you're not, you need to take the night off or find a different job.
BMFC@reddit
Counterpoint: not offensive
KnowledgeSafe3160@reddit
You cannot cross a runway if the runway status lights are red. You’re supposed to stop and advise air traffic control that you are stopped due to RWSL.
TheBlack2007@reddit
That's what happens when you hire subcontractors who don't train their staff properly for the environment they are working in. Saving on wages so the executives can funnel that money into stock buybacks and Bonus packages.
Old-Library5546@reddit
There are way too many flights these days making airports too busy.
_deffer_@reddit
No.
This is only "news" because it's similar to the recent accident. The same exact thing happening 4 months from now will barely gain any traction. The one 2 years from now will go unnoticed like the dozens/hundreds of others from the past few years.
The cycle will continue.
YoshidaEri@reddit
What's City Ops?
Weird-Painter1105@reddit
FUND FAA!
FUND Infrastructure!
The_Ashamed_Boys@reddit
This has been happening for well over 10 years. This is not anything new or political.
Chadwickvonvickter@reddit
It's not new but it has always been political.
The_Ashamed_Boys@reddit
What is political about a vehicle cutting a plane off?
Chadwickvonvickter@reddit
It's because of the comment you responded to, and the fact it was a general call for FAA and aviation safety funding. ATC defunding and privatization effort is political.
You would be correct that funding is somewhere irrelevant in this case, as ground vehicles on zipper roads are generally uncontrolled. Your comment is just misplaced.
The_Ashamed_Boys@reddit
Then in this case, the original comment should be down voted as it's not relevant to the post.
BarnytheBrit@reddit
Someone having a meeting sans cookies
jeremiahfelt@reddit
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating always wins.
KnowledgeSafe3160@reddit
lol that one truck got caught, but the other sounds like it got away.
Raccoon_Ratatouille@reddit
No, there are cameras everywhere and you badge in everywhere. They will easily be able to see who did and and backtrack or follow them to whenever they swiped their badge.
Narcotic@reddit
Could have been something like this.
Single_9_uptime@reddit
Guarantee it was caught on multiple cameras and they won’t actually get away in the end.
Fatherbiff@reddit
Complacency. We know what we’re supposed to do, but it wears thin.
My closest call was exiting a runway and right there in front of me was a plane on the taxiway. Plow and sweeper hard swerved to the outside and hit the ditch.
Was I exiting to fast? Probably. Should have the plane called holding short? Probably.
Jasminez98@reddit
All ground vehicles need transponders on them.
blackcoffeeelover@reddit
Nah, the radars and system would be way over loaded if every single ground vehicle was shown.
Jasminez98@reddit
You underestimate technology. Having active incursion alerts would significantly benefit the system. You have ground radar versus in-flight, very easy to distinguish along with speed.
Competitive-Fee6160@reddit
i’m sure the ones that are stationary could be turned off
CorrectReport4808@reddit
About 10 years ago and very early in my career, I used to drive/escort construction crews in a work van from off site to almost directly near the apron. I wouldn’t just check both ways once or twice, more like 3-4 times before crossing any intersection within the gates. Like the pilot said in this clip, things happen so fast.
There’s honestly no excuse for this behavior and no margin for error. This should be a fireable offense for the ground vehicle drivers.
Boundish91@reddit
Pilot being cool as a cucumber though.
But then again that's probably one of the most important character traits to have as a pilot.
mysecondaccountanon@reddit
Props to them for such quick reaction time and being able to keep themselves together after that.
DamNamesTaken11@reddit
Glad everyone on both Frontier and ground are okay, but way too close for comfort.
GoobScoob@reddit
The phrase “scurrying away” made me laugh
yoshipunk123456@reddit
Shows that if they aren't gonna hire more ATC we need ground vehicle transponders yesterday
pitrs101@reddit
Holy shit I am scared of flying now
No_Use_9652@reddit
If there was a subreddit getting a post for every close call in a car it would crash reddit. Seriously.
Competitive-Fee6160@reddit
this is the equivalent of being cut off in a parking lot. frustrating and not really safe, but far from life threatening.
MeadyOker@reddit
Here's the thing. This is all you see in the news because it's interesting. But no one ever posts videos of absolutely boring flights where nothing goes wrong because ... they're boring.
In July 2025, the FAA reported that there are, on average, 44,360 flights a day handled by the FAA. This likely doesn't count the enormous number of General Aviation flights that take off every day, that the FAA doesn't need to handle because they aren't talking to a controller based on where they are.
That means, this incident was .002% of all flights in the US. You have a higher chance of being one of the 67 average shark attack victims in the world than you do of being in an aviation accident.
B777X_787-9@reddit
This kind of thing passes more than you think.
GenericAccount13579@reddit
We’re just in this loop of “high profile incident -> people paying attention -> regular occurrences become news -> more people paying attention -> more occurrences becoming news -> repeat”
euph_22@reddit
Even with the issues we are currently seeing in the US air traffic system, flying is by far the safest way to travel. You are massively more likely to get into an accident driving to and from the airport than having any form of accident during the flight.
Chaxterium@reddit
I had something very similar happen to me years ago in Kabul while taxiing in. We reported it and by the time we shut down we heard the driver was already in handcuffs.
Harold_v3@reddit
I’ve been in a truck driving around seatac once. I wasn’t driving but that experience was a bit humbling because driving around a taxiway is not intuitive and judging when we were clear or not I got wrong enough to not want to drive there at all.
Candenti_Papilios@reddit
Oh shit, I did that once!
Once. Right by the gates.
It was pitch black out there. He lit me up like the Griswold house!!
airport-codes@reddit
I am a bot.
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