Originally Posted by
GMEDX
It is of course of great concern that this has happened for the second time in a few months. Let's not forget though that even if HKA had continued the take off it would have easily cleared the jumbo by maybe a 1000ft. Even with an engine failure it should have cleared it.
In China I've noticed that crossings tend to be done at the runway ends now following the near miss in SHA in order to reduce the risk when a conflicting clearance is given.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda.
No telling how this could have turned out. Perhaps the -8 would have cleared before the other jet came roaring by, perhaps the other jet would have tried to abort and collided with the -8 at high speed, perhaps he would have stopped at low speed, perhaps the other jet would have tried to yank the jet off the runway (ala KLM) overrotated and stalled, perhaps he saw the other jet and was delaying his roll a bit until it cleared, perhaps he would have cleared it just fine--you name it. In any case it's a serious incident and runway incursions are a very big deal. US controllers use a great deal of judgment in crossing and landing clearances (which is good and efficient), but no one I know of clears a jet for takeoff until crossing traffic is clear. So it was obviously an error and some quick and positive thinking (with good SA) and unambiguous communication by the -8 skipper prevented a bad situation from developing.
Aircraft need to cross runways at whatever intersection works. And operating efficiently with the concrete you have to work with is important. So this is and will be the deal worldwide. No amount of procedural 'stuff' can account for all contingencies. You can minimize traps, but something will always come up which is outside the box and you don't want to hamstring yourself excessively in making an airport 'work.'
Like I said this is what pilots (and controllers) get paid for and why experience and judgment is WAYYYYYY important. Doing the right thing at the right time. Realizing that mistakes are going to happen and being able to solve situations to mitigate the risk and damage caused by them. And knowing what the right thing and the right time is. And you get what you pay for. Something the bean counters should take note of.