Originally Posted by
SDVFR
Why was there no giant white flashing "X" at the threshold of 28L? I've seen these several times at various GA airports; do large international airports not use them?
From an earlier post on this thread, emphasis mine:
Originally Posted by
Airbubba
From the
Mercury News article "
’11 seconds to impact’: Expert calculates how close SFO near-miss was to disaster"
:
Pilots receive NOTAMS — notices to pilots — regularly alerting them to closed runways or other changes in normal flight procedures, and Air Canada would have dispatchers alerting their pilots of a closed runway, Trescott said.
SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said that Runway 28L closed down at 10 p.m. Friday [isn't 0600Z 11 p.m. in SFO? -Airbubba], about two hours before Air Canada was scheduled to land. A NOTAM was sent alerting pilots of the closure until 7 a.m. Saturday [8 a.m. local?], and the airport had a large, flashing “X” at the landing area to reinforce the closure, he said.
The FAA and NTSB, which have launched investigations into the event, declined to provide further details of the incident Wednesday.
“We may have investigators in the Bay Area within the next few days,” said NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway. “It is possible that part of the NTSB investigation going forward will be to review (air traffic control) procedures and practices for that airport.”
SFO near-miss: Air Canada pulled up with 11 seconds to spare