NTSB CAROL · Event
Event NYC93IA064
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S DISORIENTATION WHILE TAXIING, RESULTING IN A RUNWAY INCURSION. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE INCIDENT WERE: THE FAILURE OF THE FLIGHT CREW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE ATC GROUND CONTROLLER TO VERIFY THEIR POSITION; THE INADEQUATE CREW COORDINATION; AND THE DARK NIGHT LIGHT CONDITIONS.
Factual narrative
THE CREW OF N79771 WAS CLEARED TO TAXI TO RUNWAY 4L ON THE OUTER TAXIWAY. WHILE TAXIING, THE CAPTAIN BECAME DISORIENTED AND THOUGHT HE WAS ON THE INNER TAXIWAY. HE TOLD THE FIRST OFFICER ABOUT HIS CONCERNS. THE FIRST OFFICER'S ATTENTION HAD BEEN DEVOTED TO COCKPIT DUTIES, BUT HE ALSO THOUGHT THEY WERE TAXIING ON THE INNER. THE AIRPLANE WAS ACTUALLY ON THE OUTER. THE CAPTAIN DECIDED TO TURN LEFT AT TAXIWAY 'G' TO RETURN TO THE OUTER. WHEN THE TURN WAS MADE AT 'G,' THE AIRPLANE WAS ON A SHORT TAXIWAY LEADING TO RUNWAY 4L. A B-737 WAS ON THE TAKEOFF ROLL ON RUNWAY 4L, AND THE PILOT OF THAT AIRPLANE SAID HE OBSERVED N79771 ON THE RUNWAY. SEVERAL TOWER CONTROLLERS STATED THAT N79771 WAS ON RUNWAY 4L AMD MADE A TURN OFF THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT OF N79771 SAID HE SAW THE RUNWAY EDGE LIGHTS, AND THAT HE WAS ABLE TO TURN THE AIRPLANE BEFORE ENTERING THE ACTIVE RUNWAY. N79771 WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH A NOSE WHEEL TAXI LIGHT. THE PILOT SAID THIS MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO DETERMINE HIS POSITION. THE CREW OF N79771 MADE NO RADIO CALLS TO GROUND CONTROL ABOUT THEIR CONFUSION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1993_NYC93IA064.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.
Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway incursion). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 1993 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Cost Analysis: Re-Engining a Boeing 727-200 (Advanced) Versus Buying a New Boeing 757-200
The Boeing 727-200 and 757-200 are both narrowbody aircraft designed for short- to medium-range flights carrying 164 to 214 passengers.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2023 · SKYbrary article
Runway Incursion — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary runway incursion review — taxonomy (operational error, vehicle/pedestrian, pilot deviation), severity categories A-D, mitigation technologies (ASDE-X, ASSC, RAAS, RIAAS).
- Semantic Scholar 2023 · Article (Future Transportation)
Investigating Runway Incursion Incidents at United States Airports
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the number of runway incursions is increasing. Over the last two decades, the number of runway incursions at U.S.
- FAA-affiliated R&D (MITRE / Volpe / FAA Tech Center) 2022 · MITRE risk analysis
Runway Incursion Prevention Systems — Surface Domain Risk Analysis
MITRE risk analysis of runway-incursion prevention systems (RIPS) — ASDE-X / ASSC + Airport Surface Detection Equipment performance characterization. Findings drove FAA Surface Safety Action Plan.
- Semantic Scholar 2020 · Article (Journal of Physics: Conference Series)
Comparison of Detection Technology for Runway Incursion Prevention in Airport Hot Spot
The prevention of runway incursion in hot spot of airports has always been one of the research hot spots in the field of international civil aviation.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2020 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Analysis of Runway Incursion Trends: Implications for Cost-Benefit Analysis of Mitigation Investments
This causal-comparative and correlation study investigated the costs of runway incursion safety improvements in relation to their effectiveness to assess potential aviation system benefits.Two airport…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗