A Delta passenger said there were screams in the cabin when the plane aborted a takeoff while speeding down the runway at JFK

• A Delta jet had to abort a takeoff when an American Airlines plane passed in front of it.
• The FAA said the Delta jet halted its takeoff within 1,000 feet of the American Airlines plane.

A Delta passenger said his fellow travelers screamed when their plane had to abort its takeoff after another aircraft passed in front of it on the runway.

The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, said it was investigating an incident involving a Delta Boeing 737 and an American Airlines Boeing 777 at New York's JFK airport on Friday night.

Donall Brian Healy, who was traveling on Delta flight 1943 bound for the Dominican Republic, told Insider the jet came to a very sudden halt two or three seconds after it began accelerating down the runway to take off, thrusting passengers forward in their seats.

"There were vocal reactions, a few screams when the plane first started slowing, then total silence. I felt a surge of adrenaline knowing this was not normal, and not knowing what to expect," Healy said. "As the plane came to a stop, I realized we'd be OK — I thought it was a mechanical thing."

Healy said the pilot told passengers that another plane had passed in front of them, forcing him to abort the takeoff. The aircraft took an hour to taxi back to the terminal, Healy added.

Healy canceled his flight after the incident, and Delta gave him a full refund.

In a statement to Insider, the FAA said preliminary analysis found the Delta flight stopped its takeoff roll on the runway about 1,000 feet from American Airlines flight 106 as it passed on an adjacent runway, and that no one was hurt in the incident.

Twitter user JonNYC initially flagged the near-miss.

ABC7 reported that the Delta jet was traveling at 115 mph when it aborted its takeoff.

A Delta representative told Insider that 145 passengers and six crew members were on the flight. Staff took passengers off the plane and gave them overnight accommodations due to crew resources before departing on Saturday morning.

"The safety of our customers and crew is always Delta's number-one priority. Delta will work with and assist aviation authorities on a full review of flight 1943 on Jan. 13 regarding an aborted takeoff procedure at New York-JFK. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay of their travels," the representative said.

An American Airlines representative said the carrier would defer to the FAA and that its had flight departed as planned for London's Heathrow Airport.