Originally Posted by
jondc9
for ATC to not visually scan the runway as the plane was cleared for takeoff would be a mistake.
Fine, except that in the half light of morning, or earlier, the controller could well have done (and probably did) a visual, and would have seen a set of strobes and lights at the intersection, as he/she would have fully expected ('if' this was an intersection t/o, which has still not been established) What he/she would not have been able to establish, would have been orientation whilst the a/c was at the intersect. There can only be approx 40 degrees difference in heading orientation of the a/c at the intersect between the two rws. Once rolling, it would take a few seconds for the controller to register that the a/c was on the wrong rwy. Again, the light and brg difference early in the roll would make this difficult to detect until sadly it would have been too late. So let us not be too hasty in speculating the twr has erred here.
Regards
DA1-11