“The Learjet pilot read back the instructions clearly but began a takeoff roll instead,” the FAA said in a statement.
The NTSB says neither airplane was damaged and nobody on board was hurt.
The FedEx plane, meanwhile, climbed as its crew aborted their landing to help avoid a collision, the FAA said.
Air traffic controllers had “noticed another aircraft crossing the runway in front of the departing jetliner,” the FAA said in a statement.
Audio recordings detail swift action by an air traffic controller kept the airplanes from colliding as they drew closer.