The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has criticized the air traffic control (ATC) practice of allowing aircraft and ground vehicles to cross seldom-used runways without prior coordination among controllers, citing the practice for contributing to a Dec. 2, 2016, serious runway incursion at Calgary International Airport in Alberta. In a report issued Monday, the TSB said that the incursion occurred after strong westerly winds prompted the airport to stop using parallel north/south runways in favor of Runway 29, with a west-northwest orientation.
An Air Canada Airbus A320 was cleared for takeoff on Runway 29 and, during the takeoff roll, the crew saw a Sunwest Aviation Swearingen SA226 taxiing across the runway at a taxiway intersection. Because the SA226 was more than halfway across the runway, the A320 crew continued their takeoff and passed the intersection only seconds after the smaller airplane had cleared the runway.
“The ground controller, who was simultaneously…
