It is?






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screw the tecnically "dusk" and "farmers almanac" stuff. All I know is that when I was pushing back at 1945 last week, and the week before, it was DARK outside. The sun was on it's way below the horizon at 1850 when I was in the parking lot. And I'm farther south than PA.

 

Again I say "ALPA, you have your 2008 AIR Safety award candidate(s)"..

 

I agree! Sounds like they did a good job. A dark (no strobes) small aircraft at night is incredibly hard to see some 4 or 5 thousand feet down a runway. This same thing happened to a TWA crew back in '94 in STL. A twin engine Cessna was position and hold on the wrong runway and the MD-80's wing sheared the top of the twin off, but they managed to avoid a worse collision. Of course, the pilots in the twin were killed. Scary stuff, but looks like the last minute reaction of the Mesa pilots "saved the day" this time.

 

Just some info..I dont know how far they have come since this article.

The FAA is making an excellent effort to finalize a cockpit moving-map display that shows where an aircraft is on the ground. Similar technology exists to help pilots see where they are in relation to other aircraft up to 1,000 feet AGL. ALPA strongly urges continuation of these efforts throughout the United States and Canada.

Meet international standards for runway safety areas.
Dozens of U.S. and Canadian airports, many of which serve large metropolitan areas, do not meet U.S. or international standards. According to the FAA, 45 percent, or 460, of the 1,024 certificated airport runways in the United States must be improved with regard to runway safety areas.

Three solutions exist to bring these airports up to compliance. First, they can extend the length of the runways to create runway safety areas, remove obstacles, or fill in ravines and culverts. Second, airports can reduce the usable length of the existing runway to provide runway safety areas. Third, if the physical space does not exist to create the recommended runway safety area, the airport can install an Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS), which uses concrete “foam” to bring an airplane to a quick, safe, and controlled stop.

To make these improvements a reality, airport authorities must make adequate funding available to airport operators.


Make Runways Safer than Ever

 

I just reread the NTSB report.
1. Strobes are not required, I do see your point though.
2. Correct that they don't need to report "Clear"
3. The take off was aborted at 120kts. Not "transmission was heard at 120 kts. That is a big difference.

I have no desire to bash Mesa or anyone that works for them. They just made a mistake (so did the tower IMO) A momentary lapse in situational awareness. Everyone lived...good job... Next time pay attention

 

Fantastic! I'm glad you're able to draw the conclusion that they made a mistake based on a prelim NTSB report. Tomorrow at 1945 look outside. I'll give you a hint, it's dark!

 

So.....

"Uhh Tower, uhhhhhh it's dark so ummmm, could you except complete and total responsibility for our flight please? By the way stand by please, I need to add some gel to my hair, it's not spikey enough"

 

Spikey hair joke, how fresh of you. All I'm saying is let's postpone judgement until we learn more about what happened.

 

I'm completely dumbfounded that anyone would second-guess the crew on this. The crew would not have initiated the take-off roll knowing that a cessna up ahead had missed its turn-off. I think it became clear during the roll that the cessna was possibly still on the runway, the crew took the right action and aborted the takeoff and narrowly avoided the cessna. It was completely dark out...who cares about the definition of dusk. It was 1945 in Allentown, PA...this time of year at that latitude, it's gonna be totally dark out.

They saved themselves, their pax and crew, and those in the Cessna by making a good decision. They were cleared for take-off, during the roll the cessna indicated they missed the turn-off, they took prompt corrective action based on what they were hearing at the time, and saved the day by aborting the takeoff and probably subjecting the CRJ to some high-speed cornering at the same time. Glad it turned out the way it did.