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Old 20th Dec 2005, 19:06
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SirToppamHat
 
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The following links to several videos that are not great in themselves, but the third of which is about a Runway Incursion at Theodore Francis Green State Airport, near Providence, Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Runway Incursion

This was recently presented to the Unit Safety Management Officers' (USMO) Course at HQ STC. Unfortunately, the video itself is not that good except in giving an indication of how bad the visibility was at the time.

The way it was presented to us was with an overview of the airport from above, showing where all the ac are at each stage. There was no ground radar to help the air trafficer, and you can really sense the effect of stress as the situation deteriorates around her, and she eventually realises that one of the ac is sitting on a runway that she has just given clearance for another ac to take-off from. It is an excellent example of the impact of humans on a procedural system that was not sufficiently robust to be safe in low-visibility ops.

In essence, one crew misunderstands an instruction/takes a wrong turning, and the controller fails to pick-up the clues given by their ongoing position reports. Disaster is only averted when another crew, given clearance to take-off rejects the clearance because they have worked out that another airliner is on the runway in front of them (even though they can't see it due to the fog!). In my view, equally responsible was the management that allowed the procedures to continue without Ground Radar. IIRC, (and I will happily be corrected) this had been delivered several months earlier but was sitting in boxes waiting for the management to have it installed.

If you PM me, I will get you contact details (after Xmas) for the SO2 who showed it to us - with a bit of luck he will let you have the package as it was presented to us - it is quite scary! It may be worth you getting you SATCO or DSATCO to present it, as they should have been on the USMO Course and may remember it.

STH
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