NASA · Aviation Safety Reporting System
Air carrier Captain and another air carrier First Officer reported a critical ground conflict between the two aircraft during a taxi in night conditions. The former aircraft”™s Captain was able to abruptly stop the aircraft after noticing the other aircraft.
What is ASRS?
The Aviation Safety Reporting System is NASA's voluntary, confidential, non- punitive incident-reporting system, established 1976. Pilots, controllers, dispatchers, and maintenance technicians file reports describing safety- relevant events. NASA de-identifies every report before adding it to the public database. Reports are not investigated by NASA, the FAA, or the NTSB — they represent the reporter's perspective.
Pilot narratives
Verbatim from the de-identified NASA record. First-person account by the
reporter. NASA strips identifying details (names, company, specific time);
anonymization placeholders are ZZZ,
X, Y.
Reporter 1
It was nighttime in EWR and after landing, Tower gave us clearance, something like cross Runway 22R, taxi RH to A, give way to company aircraft left to right. Because it was somewhat lengthy, the First Officer asked Tower to repeat the clearance. This time the clearance did not mention the aircraft to give way to, and since we saw a company aircraft crossing well ahead of us, we believed it was no longer a factor and that was why he omitted it in the second clearance. As we cleared the runway I noticed another company aircraft on the parallel and stopped the aircraft abruptly. Because it was dark, and because we thought there was not another aircraft to give way to, I didn't see it until the last second. I would estimate the clearance was 10 ““ 15 ft., at the most.
Reporter 2
After pushback in the RF alley, we contacted Ground for taxi. Ground cleared us to taxi to Runway 22R at Whiskey via Bravo and Romeo, and told to give way to an aircraft under tow on our right. This was the only instruction or advisory we received from Ground throughout the entire taxi. After becoming established on Bravo, behind the tug, the Captain called for the Before-Takeoff Checklist. Since this checklist requires us to reference paperwork and the FMC, the amount of time I was spending heads down was now increased. Approaching Taxiway Mike, the Captain noticed Aircraft Y on our right that was going to be crossing our path on the taxiway perpendicular to us, with no visible intent to stop. I was still in the process of completing the checklist, but at this point I focused my full attention outside. Understanding that Aircraft X was headed on a conflicting path with our taxi route, the Captain steered our aircraft slightly to the left, to provide extra clearance, and to ensure the two aircraft remained clear of each other. From what I could tell, Aircraft X eventually became aware of the conflict and stopped. During our taxi, we were never made aware by ATC that there was an aircraft crossing into our path, nor were we given instruction to give way to the crossing aircraft. Fortunately, the conflict was noticed early enough for both crews to react and avoid a more serious conflict. Furthermore, since we were on Ground frequency and Aircraft X was talking to Tower, we were not able to hear the clearance being given to Aircraft X. This occurred at night, which made it more challenging to see the other aircraft.
NASA classification — Anomalies
- ATC Issue
- Conflict
- Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural
- Ground Incursion
NASA classification — Assessments
- Contributing Factors / Situations
- Human Factors · Procedure
- Primary Problem
- Human Factors
ASRS reports are voluntarily submitted, de-identified by NASA, and represent the reporter's perspective. The presence of reports on a topic cannot be used to infer prevalence in the National Airspace System. The authoritative source is the NASA ASRS Database Online at asrs.arc.nasa.gov ↗.