NASA · Aviation Safety Reporting System
A Tower Local Controller reported they cleared an aircraft onto the runway with another aircraft on short final.
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 narrative
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.
5 minutes after taking position from previous controller, splitting off LC2 (Local Control) to accommodate increasing volume of traffic. After briefing given to parallel controller and while monitoring departures from the south runway to switch pattern traffic to a different frequency, Aircraft X calls ready for departure. Radar tag for Aircraft Y was observed dropping off of the scope, which usually correlates with the aircraft touching down on the runway, and Aircraft X was issued LUAW (Line Up and Wait) instruction. As they read it back, I see Aircraft Y about to touch down, so at first I attempt to make Aircraft X stop, but they have immediately begun moving at near takeoff speed to taxi onto the runway and ignore this transmission, so I instead tell Aircraft Y to go around, with which they comply. No further issues arise and Aircraft Y comes back around to land without issue after Aircraft X is cleared for takeoff. During winter months when there is snow on the ground it is extremely difficult to see aircraft on final for Runway 30R once they pass below the horizon. If it is possible to change the tolerance of the radar to keep tags on the scope until they touch the surface it would be very beneficial for keeping our increasing volume of traffic in proper sequence. Additionally this was during a back-to-back briefing situation with CIC (Controller in Charge) combined with GC, so no available oversight to catch mistakes, we need greater staffing numbers in order to keep all of our positions open so these things can be caught more easily.
NASA classification — Anomalies
- ATC Issue
- Conflict
- Ground Event / Encounter
NASA classification — Assessments
- Contributing Factors / Situations
- ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings · Human Factors · Procedure · Weather
- 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 ↗.