Wow. A wake-up call for sure. A reminder that under the wrong circumstances you don't have to be very far off your game...
Whatever the NTSB ends up saying, the lesson I'm reminded of when it comes to ATC clearances is best described by one of Ronald Reagan's most notable quotes: "Trust.... But verify."
And I was just telling a story yesterday about that: We were holding short of the runway at KEGE one morning, just finishing the checklist when the tower cleared us for takeoff. I put my hand on the parking brake handle as I looked up the approach path. What I saw made me put my hand back on my lap. I looked at the FO and he looked at me, then I pointed to myself, indicating I'd like to be the one to make the radio call. The FO nodded as I called tower and told them we'd need to hold short for a couple of minutes. The next radio call apparently came from the AA B-757 on a quarter mile final: "Thanks guys." The new voice on tower sounded a little stressed when he canceled our takeoff clearance. Lesson? Everyone makes mistakes, So trust... But verify.
Last edited by westhawk; 14th Mar 2013 at 23:42.