A Frontier Airlines flight encountered a terrifying incident at Los Angeles International Airport when a pair of service trucks failed to yield as the aircraft was taxiing for departure.
A Frontier Airlines pilot was forced to slam on the brakes while taxiing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after two trucks suddenly crossed in front of the aircraft.
According to air traffic control audio, the Airbus A321 was taxiing for departure to Atlanta (ATL) when the incident occurred. Here’s ATC audio:
Pilot: Hey, Grant, did you see this?
Air Traffic Control: No
Pilot: Two trucks just cut us off. We had to slam on the brakes not to hit them.
Air Traffic Control: Who’s asking? Is that Frontier?
Pilot: Yeah, it’s Frontier.
Air Traffic Control: …Two trucks cut off Frontier at Kilo and Bravo at the service road. Frontier, do you have eyes on them? Which direction are they going?
Pilot: They were going eastbound.
Air Traffic Control: Eastbound, and they’re still there next to you?
Pilot: One turned off, one kept going, I think. One turned left, one kept going straight.
Air Traffic Control: Okay, do you have any markings, company name or anything like that on them?
Pilot: Nah, it happened so fast. Both of us were just like, holy shit, and we were just slammed on the brakes. I’m going to have to call the flight team to make sure everybody’s alright in the back. It was real close, the closest I’ve ever seen.
Air Traffic Control: One of the ones that’s off your 10 o’clock there?
Pilot: Yeah.
Air Traffic Control: That is the one off your 10 o’clock?
Pilot: Umm, nah, he’s turning left now. He’s up further up. It looks like Charlie, Charlie 10 maybe.
Air Traffic Control: Okay, I see him scurrying away. City officers, one of them might be the one that’s entering Charlie 10.
Police Officer: Roger, I’ll head over there.
Air Traffic Control: 3216, let me know if you require any assistance.
Pilot: No, we’re good. It was just as close as I’ve ever seen it.
You can also listen to the above conversation below:
“It happened so fast, both of us are like holy shit and slammed on the brakes…as close as I’ve ever seen” Frontier pilot tells LAX controllers late Wednesday. He reported 2 trucks essentially cut off the A321 heading to Atlanta on a taxiway.
FAA is investigating.
Listen ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/yE6xGyCsrK
— Kris Van Cleave (@krisvancleave) April 10, 2026
The audio is more sobering than the transcript: this was a near-collision that unfolded so quickly the pilots barely had time to react. As View From The Wing stated, after the New York LaGuardia Air Canada tragedy last month, this becomes even more sobering…while this wasn’t a plane landing, it could have turned out much worse had the pilots not acted decisively.
We tend to think of aviation safety primarily in terms of pilots and air traffic controllers, but airports are busy “cities” filled with fuel trucks, catering vehicles, baggage carts, and maintenance crews. There is one rule that all must follow: yield to the aircraft.
Here, two trucks managed to cross directly in front of a taxiing aircraft, a serious safety failure. Were they on cell phones? Otherwise distracted? Based on the ATC audio, it appears they tried to “scurry” away like rats.
The only reason this didn’t turn into something far worse is because the pilots reacted quickly. Kudos to them for paying attention…
CONCLUSION
A Frontier Airlines pilot had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting two trucks at LAX…an incident he described as the closest call he has ever seen.
Part of me thinks our world of real-time news and social media magnify everything and therefore the “situation” today is not necessarily worse than in the past. But even if that is the case, this situation was 100% unnacceptable. Thankfully, no one was hurt this time.
image: Aero Icarus / WikiMedia Commons
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