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Report: Driver in Logan incursion said he didn't know runway was open

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 24, 2009 02:37 PM

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The driver of a construction vehicle that had a close call with a US Airways jet last week when it crossed a runway at Logan International Airport has said he didn't know the runway was open when he drove across it, federal transportation investigators said.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is looking into the runway incursion Thursday, said in a preliminary report that the runway, 15R, is occasionally closed due to airfield construction. When the runway is closed, signs indicate that it's closed, the NTSB said. But no signs were up Thursday, indicating that the runway was open. Airport officials also said that all personnel had been briefed that the runway was active.

But the driver of the vehicle "indicated that he had not been briefed to that fact," the NTSB said in a one-page report posted on its website.

NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said the agency would, as part of its investigation, look into how people on the airfield are notified of runway closures and openings.

"Part of our investigation is the extent and the circumstances of the communication," he said. He said a report by his agency determining the probable cause of the incident and any factors that may have played into it will be finished in 6 to 12 months.

The NTSB report also said there was a 500-foot separation between the airplane and the vehicle. But officials said that with the Airbus A320 hurtling down the runway, only seconds separated the plane and the truck. An A320 jet can take off at speeds ranging from 170 to 250 miles per hour.

"It's very serious," said Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for the airport, which is run by the Massachusetts Port Authority. "That's why the CEO of this company decided that safety's first and we're going to cease construction until we figure out what happened." All airfield construction has been suspended since the incident, while officials review procedures.

A spokeswoman for HNTB Inc., the company the driver worked for, didn't immediately return messages seeking comment.

The incident happened at about 6:36 a.m. Thursday. The construction crew, riding in a Ford Explorer, crossed the runway as the plane, headed for Phoenix, was rolling towards takeoff. There were no injuries to the 84 passengers and five crew.

The NTSB is investigating the incident, with assistance from Massport and the Federal Aviation Administration.