Originally Posted by
clark y
Firstly, I do not know the area and only have a basic understanding of US procedures.
It appears that the active runway was 14 at the time and the Vistajet wanted to takeoff against the traffic for “performance reasons”. Is there a problem with 14R? It seems long enough at 10,000’. As for obstacles, there is an ILS for 32L which would indicate that there is not too much to hit on the departure of 14R.
Basic point is that BFI underlies the approaches to SEA 16L/C/R at about
5nm (and thus also departures from SEA 34L/C/R).
If you check back to the original radar video, you can see the string of inbounds to SEA passing overhead southbound at ~2500 feet during the event. (And one TO at the point the VistaJet was making its wide turn to "final" - causing a
CA conflict alert on the radar).
Not a great idea to be launching IFR departures from BFI 32L/R more or less
head-on into the "string of pearls" lined up for SEA 16L/C/R without careful coordination.
I'm not privy to the local "rules" or agreement, but I'd guess they amount to, or include - that if SEA is running its traffic southbound, BFI
must also use its southbound runways (e.g. 14R/L). And if SEA traffic is using the runways northbound, BFI must
also use its north runways (32L/R). Just so that all the traffic is flowing the same way.
As to 14R departures, there is a ridge (Beacon Hill) about 100 feet high that parallels the runways to the east, but squeezes in towards the departure paths from 14L/R after it passes the airport (BFI is in a shallow valley).
You can check out the special TO minimums and Departure procedures here (
page L38). Does look like 14R requires slightly higher climb gradients than 32L - and has a
long list of obstructions:
https://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1907/NW1TO.PDF
Including "railway
50 feet (16m) from DER 14R."
Does seem to me that the pilot accepted/"affirmed" a clearance to fly the pattern
and land. And had probably studied the charted information, but lack a wider situational awareness of just how tight and troublesome BFI could be, with Renton (a public airport but also another Boeing facility) to the east, and whatever other reasons (noise?) banned flying over the lake.
https://kenmorefbo.com/wp-content/up...procedures.pdf
View showing 13R (now 14R) and the ridge and a bit of the departure path.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/King_County_International_Airport.jpg