US investigators have disclosed that a runway-closure notice for Maine’s Portland Jetport was missed by pilots of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 before the aircraft departed the closed runway 29.
Although the crew had seen a NOTAM listing the closure at weekends, the captain “incorrectly assumed” that the same NOTAM would show any additional closure days.
But the US National Transportation Safety Board says the crew “did not see” a separate NOTAM addressing closures on other days – including 25 June, the day of the incident.
The pilots had received an information package including 32 NOTAMs for Portland Jetport ahead of the flight.
They had been reviewing them on handheld tablets – with five flight-related applications open – but the missed closure NOTAM had been underneath another application.
According to the safety board, the flight’s departure time was scheduled for 05:40 with a 12min taxi-out. The runway was closed until 05:45.
Investigators state that the pre-flight information package included a message that all flights departing Portland Jetport before 05:45 must call a dispatcher and receive a briefing from the chief pilot about using the airport’s other runway, 18/36, which is particularly short.
“The flight crew did not see the [message] nor did they call for a briefing,” says the safety board.
The first officer told the inquiry that the crew received weight-and-balance performance data for runway 29 before pushback, when none would normally be received if a runway is closed.
He advised on the universal communication (Unicom) frequency that the aircraft would push back from gate 4, and taxi to runway 29, and contacted Boston air traffic centre to advise that the aircraft was first in line to depart from this runway.
Both pilots indicated that they saw a truck exit the runway while the jet was holding short, and they waited to confirm it was clear before applying power. The first officer again used the Unicom to state the aircraft was departing from 29.
No markings or equipment indicated the runway was closed, and no communication was heard on Unicom, and the aircraft (N7861J) took off at 05:43, about 2min before the closure period ended.
It landed without further incident in Baltimore. None of the 136 occupants was injured.
