Originally Posted by
peekay4
It has already been a factor. E.g., the Comair 5191 wrong runway takeoff crash at LEX.
Due to his schedule the controller was working alone after sleeping only 2 hours in the past 24. And the crash occurred on the "wrong side" of the controller's circadian rhythm -- he would normally be asleep at the time.
Since he was alone, the controller cleared Comair 5191 for takeoff before the aircraft had reached the intended runway and then attended other workload (administrative tasks) at the tower. That was a missed opportunity to notice that the aircraft had lined up on the wrong runway.
I think that is a little unfair on the controller at Lexington. The two thresholds were effectively in the same place viewed from the tower. The flight crew chose an unlit GA runway rather than the lit main runway. Visibility over airports at night is confusing at the best of times. By the time the controller could have recognized that the aircraft was attempting takeoff on the short runway he could have said nothing to prevent the accident.