NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a near-collision at Newark International Airport on Wednesday.

A passenger jet taxiing at the airport crossed a runway where another plane was departing, The Record of Hackensack reported in Thursday's editions.

The incident, called an incursion, occurred at the same intersection where air traffic controllers have asked for changes to reduce the risk of such mishaps, according to the report.

The preliminary investigation by the FAA found that Wednesday's incident was caused by operational error, meaning an air traffic controller's mistake, FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said.

Salac said it was not yet clear how close Continental Airlines Flight 288 came to American TransAir Flight 6919 at 9:02 a.m. She said it seemed that the Continental plane had just lifted off when it flew over the top of the taxiing TransAir jet.

According to the FAA and other sources, the TransAir plane, arriving from Indianapolis, landed on Runway 4R, the outermost runway closest to the New Jersey Turnpike, and was cleared by the control tower to cross runway 11-29, the northernmost runway.

The plane then turned left on a taxiway, immediately crossing another runway, 4L.

Continental Flight 288 was barreling down that runway toward departure. The Continental plane safely flew over the TransAir plane, but because both were on the same active runway, it was automatically classified as an incursion and the FAA was brought in to investigate.

Salac, of the FAA, said the control tower did not tell the TransAir pilot to stop short of Runway 4L as it should have done. ''The pilot did not receive instructions to hold short,'' Salac said.

That left the TransAir plane crossing the end of Runway 4L at the same time as the Continental plane was lifting off from Runway 4L.

The Continental plane, a Boeing 737, was carrying 95 passengers and six crew members en route from Newark to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Continental spokeswoman Catherine Stengel said.

Details about the TransAir flight, a Boeing 727, were not available.

http://www.newsday.com/ap/regional/ap549.htm

-- Doris (reaper1@mindspring.com), July 20, 2000