Work on the centre-field taxiway project at Boston Logan International airport is on hold following a near miss between a construction worker's Ford Explorer and a departing US Airways Airbus A320 on 18 June.
The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), operator of the airport, suspended the project pending an investigation. Two other investigations are under way, one by the US National Transportation Safety Board and one by the US Federal Aviation Administration's root cause analysis team.
According to the NTSB's preliminary report of the incident, US Airways Flight 27, en route to Phoenix with 84 passengers and five crew members was cleared to depart Boston's Runway 15R at about 06:30 that morning in clear weather conditions.
Although the Explorer's driver was not in communication with air traffic controllers, Massport says all personnel were briefed that Runway 15R was active at the time, and signage that is normally used to indicate a closed runway was not present.
The driver, who has been suspended from driving at the airport after the incident, says he had not been briefed that the runway was open, according to the NTSB.
The NTSB adds that the US Airways jet lifted its nose for take-off as the Explorer crossed through an intersecting taxiway about 150m (500ft) ahead. The NTSB did not state the minimum separation between the vehicles, but has classified the incident as serious.
Boston's airport ground surveillance radar alerted controllers of the event, says the NTSB.
Source: Flight International
