Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackArcher101
Ya, should be interesting to see the report, sadly they say it may take a year which is crazy in itself.
Actually wondering if they programmed 4R accidentally and that's where they were heading and ATC thought they were lining up for 31L, but actually intended on crossing it to continue down to 4R. However, I'm sure that runway is a tad short for the 777. Having the American on ground still as well didn't allow them to hear the takeoff clearance for Delta. That could have helped prevent it, but then they'd have to be handed off or told to monitor fairly earlier than usual.
|
I would agree that 4R might be on the shorter side for a 777. I do wonder if they might have asked for departure off 31L earlier before the taxi clearance and thought they were getting it. To get to 4R and go full length 31L, you would have to cross 4L, so the possibility is definitely there. I think even if they heard the T/O clearance for Delta off 4L, this still might have happened as there is still a chance they think they're crossing 31L. At the end of the audio, the AA pilot asked ground whether the last clearance they were given was the clearance to cross a runway. The pilot didn't say which runway they were cleared to cross.
The possibilities of what caused this situation to happen are pretty much endless. A lot of things had already went wrong for this to happen, it'll be interesting to see what the findings actually are.