Originally Posted by
CockroachPlus
Was flying flt 699 BOS-DEN, on 7/11,
Ch 9 - was not on.
Plane taxied to the runway at BOS.
Got to take off spot. "Prepare for takeoff"
Started accelerating down runway.
Looked out portside window, was a plane landing on intersecting runway.
Pilot powered down.
Runway Incursions are at the top of the list for the FAA, the problem can only get worse.....
If anyone is interested, The History Channel show Mega Diasters (
http://www.history.com/megadisasters) just did a segment on the problem, and talks about the Runway Status LIght (RWSL) project they are implementing. It has been tested at DFW and SAN for several years, and the first "real" RWSL project will be to upgrade the DFW installation, that work is starting now, but will take the rest of the year to become operational. Approximately 20 airports will eventually get the package, although it will take years.
Basically RWSL is a series of Takeoff Hold Lights (THL) and Runway Entrance Lights (REL) controlled by radar (Sensis ASDE-X Surface Detection) and computer, independent of ATC. The idea is that if the radar detects a potential incursion situation, the hold lights stay red, and the pilot stays put until they clear. The same holds true for landing aircraft.
The show is being repeated on Saturday, at 3pm EDT......
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Mega Disasters : Deadly Jet Collision
Airs on Saturday July 19 03:00 PM
Since commercial aviation began, the romance of air travel has been marred by the tragedy of crashes. Today the sky above is safer than ever before--but the ground below has become more perilous. That was tragically proven in March, 1977, on Tenerife, part of the Canary Island chain, where 583 people were killed when two Boeing 747s collided at Los Rodeos Airport. It was the world's--and history's--worst aviation disaster. Though decades have passed, root causes for the tragedy at Tenerife remain with us today. The problem is called "runway incursions," meaning any incorrect presence of aircraft, vehicles or persons on an airfield. For the last decade, the U.S. has seen roughly 300 incursions per year. Most are not serious, but some have been very near misses--and others have taken lives. Unless significant changes continue to be made in airport infrastructure, aviation technology, and professional training, any American airport could be the site of the next tragedy.
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