close call for go! in Hawaii

[OB-CPO]

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070525/NEWS/705250379/1001

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]A C-130 military cargo plane came close to crossing the path of a go! passenger jet taking off from Honolulu International Airport at about 100 mph, the Federal Aviation Administration said. "I've seen other incidents throughout my career but this was by far the closest," air traffic controller Thom Gurule said yesterday. "I hate the term 'near miss.' This was a 'near hit.' I don't want to see anything any closer."

[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]He twice gave the pilot instructions to "exit at Taxiway Echo, turn left, cross Runway 4 Left, then turn left on Taxiway Bravo, which runs parallel to Taxiway 8 Left," Gregor said. "But the C-130 pilot didn't make the left turn on Taxiway B. He kept going straight on, heading straight toward Runway 8, where the regional jet was on its take-off." [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]

The go! jet — known as Air Shuttle 1018 — was pointed in the diamondhead direction of Runway 8 and had just gotten permission from Gurule to take off. Gurule then looked up just in time to see that the C-130 had not turned onto Taxiway B and instead was on the makai side of the runway facing the terminals — rolling directly into the path of the oncoming go! jet.

[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]SPLIT-SECOND REACTION
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1] Gurule said the C-130 pilot "was definitely in a very dangerous place to be." The go! pilot was bearing down "past the point of no return," Gurule said. Gurule said he yelled at the C-130 pilot to "hold your position. ... And he just stopped abruptly." Sorenson said Gurule "didn't have two seconds or one second to think. It was a split-second, gut reaction to yell out to stop the pilot. Had he waited one or two seconds longer, we would definitely be talking about a different set of circumstances."

[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]Air Shuttle 1018 then lifted into the air in front of the C-130 and a nervous pilot came on the radio. "There was a slight moment of silence," Gurule said. "I asked Air Shuttle 1018, 'Are you OK?' You could tell the pilot was absolutely shaken up. His response was, 'It was a little crazy for a second but we're OK.' Then he was concerned that maybe he did something wrong. His question to me was, 'I was cleared for take-off, wasn't I?' Gurule then directed the C-130 pilot to contact the tower about a possible "pilot deviation" and had no further contact with him.

[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]The FAA continues to investigate the incident.
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[pilotpat]

Holy crap. I hope those go! guys had time for a beer or more later.

 

[Lav Service]

Probably, right after they got done changing their shorts!

 

[Berkut]

They were flying a Shorts?

 

[bailey3083]

Holy crap. I hope those go! guys had time for a beer or more later.

They can afford beer on what they are paid or do they just steal it from the Galley?

 

[Oakum_Boy]

They washed them with complimentary club soda then dry them out on their issued plywood boards.

 

[Soverytired]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]"Gurule then directed the C-130 pilot to contact the tower about a possible "pilot deviation" and had no further contact with him."

Har har! Now that's some dry wit. Good thing there's a war on . . . I'd say beyond a slap on the wrist with their CO, they'll be ok.

And since no one got hurt, that's ok by me.
[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[SBD-2U3]

Probably, right after they got done changing their shorts!

Shorts...I bet they had to mop the whole flightdeck down!

 

[CA1900]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]I'd say beyond a slap on the wrist with their CO, they'll be ok.

And since no one got hurt, that's ok by me.[/SIZE][/FONT]

Are you kidding me?

Had a civilian done this, he'd be crucified. I'd say considering how close they came to killing ~50 people, a little more than a slap on the wrist may be in order. You know, like some remedial education on looking before you cross the street, eh?

 

[pacific 77]

Geez, that was a close call. I wonder how many of the pax were aware of just how close they came to having their names appear in the newspaper today? I can relate to what would’ve likely flashed through the mind of the controller in that instant. Although I was never actually in ATC I used to do Unicom in a decommissioned tower at a fairly busy uncontrolled GA airport; that averaged about 300,000 movements per year. One busy afternoon I witnessed an incident that was similar in circumstance to the one that occurred today in HNL…a Cessna was on the roll after a touch and go when a Trinidad, that was taxiing, decided to cross the active runway at mid intersection and right in front of the other a/c that was rolling for takeoff. Just prior to this my attention was diverted inside the cab, as I was recording the movement of the rolling aircraft, on its strip. While I was doing that I heard the taxiing Trinidad announce that he was going to cross the active. Knowing that there was an aircraft on a touch and go I immediately looked up, and seeing what was about to occur I blurted out an advisory to the a/c crossing, “JCC hold, aircraft rolling on the runway!” The guy in Trinidad yanked on his brakes so hard I thought he was going to strike his prop. I watched as his aircraft rocked back and forth, still partially on the runway, as the Cessna whizzed past and got airborne only meters away. The pilot of the Trinidad, in a very grateful voice, thanked me for the heads up; I wonder if it occurred to the Herc driver to do the same?

 

[ShyFlyGuy]

Geez, that was a close call. I wonder how many of the pax were aware of just how close they came to having their names appear in the newspaper today? I can relate to what would’ve likely flashed through the mind of the controller in that instant. Although I was never actually in ATC I used to do Unicom in a decommissioned tower at a fairly busy uncontrolled GA airport; that averaged about 300,000 movements per year. One busy afternoon I witnessed an incident that was similar in circumstance to the one that occurred today in HNL…a Cessna was on the roll after a touch and go when a Trinidad, that was taxiing, decided to cross the active runway at mid intersection and right in front of the other a/c that was rolling for takeoff. Just prior to this my attention was diverted inside the cab, as I was recording the movement of the rolling aircraft, on its strip. While I was doing that I heard the taxiing Trinidad announce that he was going to cross the active. Knowing that there was an aircraft on a touch and go I immediately looked up, and seeing what was about to occur I blurted out an advisory to the a/c crossing, “JCC hold, aircraft rolling on the runway!” The guy in Trinidad yanked on his brakes so hard I thought he was going to strike his prop. I watched as his aircraft rocked back and forth, still partially on the runway, as the Cessna whizzed past and got airborne only meters away. The pilot of the Trinidad, in a very grateful voice, thanked me for the heads up; I wonder if it occurred to the Herc driver to do the same?

You man a "tower" at an uncontrolled field? Do you fly an RC airplane as well? I mean this in the nicest way possible... but I think you might be gay.

 

[RJP]

Are you kidding me?

Had a civilian done this, he'd be crucified. I'd say considering how close they came to killing ~50 people, a little more than a slap on the wrist may be in order. You know, like some remedial education on looking before you cross the street, eh?

Oddly, that's how it works. F*ck up in the military and you change your callsign. No civilian controller ever knows who the pilot was.

Besides, everyone knows that go! is only 60% full, so it wouldn't have been a full 50 pax anyway. And the Herc never really incurred on the runway, they just had to be yelled at to stop.

Either way you look at it, no one got hurt. Get over it.

 

[igneousy2]

Probably, right after they got done changing their shorts!

Maybe the Air Force can give the Mesa guys an honorary call sign...

Maybe they can call them "puddles"

Later

 

[Stifler's Mom]

...averaged about 300,000 movements per year...

You should probably see a doctor about that....that's an awful lot of ********************.

 

[Soverytired]

Are you kidding me?

Had a civilian done this, he'd be crucified. I'd say considering how close they came to killing ~50 people, a little more than a slap on the wrist may be in order. You know, like some remedial education on looking before you cross the street, eh?

Yep, no doubt about it, a civilian would probably get his license taken away, and I for one wouldn't shed a tear.

I gotta say though, the fact that military guys are VOLUNTEERING to go to war and get shot at gives them a great deal of leeway when it comes to (non-fatal) mistakes.

This is the same reason I don't get too upset when the ex-military pilots get all the good government flying jobs and huge preference points at many airlines. They volunteered years . . . decades in most cases. . . of their lives to protecting my sorry butt from some very, very nasty people. They deserve some extra breaks.

IMHO.

 

[Uncle Bunkle]

Oh...Mesa sucks....carry on...

 

[pacific 77]

You man a "tower" at an uncontrolled field? Do you fly an RC airplane as well? I mean this in the nicest way possible... but I think you might be gay.

So I was drinking that night.

Note to self: do not post of FI while consuming alcohol.

You man a "tower" at an uncontrolled field?

No, I never said I manned a “tower.” But, I do think there should’ve still been one at that airport given the number of annual aircraft movements it had. However, the tower closed down because of the proposed implementation of exorbitant ATC user fees. The reason I worked as a (part-time) Unicom operator was because of financial necessity. It was a second job while I was a flight instructor at that airport.

Do you fly an RC airplane as well?

No, I don’t fly an RC airplane. Never have done.

I mean this in the nicest way possible... but I think you might be gay.

Nice try, but I'm 100% straight. But I am foreign.

FYI. Before you go casting your negative judgment about others inclinations on this forum, especially when they are discussing what they have done to contribute to air-safety, I suggest that you go take a big chomp on a STFU sandwich.

 

[viper548]

I gotta say though, the fact that military guys are VOLUNTEERING to go to war and get shot at gives them a great deal of leeway when it comes to (non-fatal) mistakes.

IMHO.

The war in Hawaii ended over 60 years ago. I'd be the first to give them a pass if this happened in the middle east.

 

[Soverytired]

The war in Hawaii ended over 60 years ago. I'd be the first to give them a pass if this happened in the middle east.

If they're in the military, I guarantee you they're been deployed to the Middle East in the past 4 years. And probably more than once.

 

[viper548]

If they're in the military, I guarantee you they're been deployed to the Middle East in the past 4 years. And probably more than once.

I'm in the reserves and have been there too. I just don't think they should get a pass on a major safety violation just because they've been to Iraq.