Reports
Staying Centered — Or Not
Factors Influencing Misaligned Take-Off Occurrences at Night
Todd, Melanie A. Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) AR-2009-033. June 2010. 44 pp. Figures, tables, appendixes.
“The night pleases us, because it suppresses the idle details, just as our memory does,” wrote the Argentine literary figure Jorge Luis Borges. But for flight crews lining up to roll their aircraft down the runway when most of the world is dark, there are no idle details. They must see and understand the picture presented partly through visual cues, such as runway centerline and edge lighting systems, which are different from lighting and markings they rely on in daylight.
The study was triggered by five misaligned nighttime takeoff occurrences investigated by the ATSB during a four-year period. All involved aircraft with takeoff weights greater than 5,700 kg/12,500 lb. In addition, the report examines ATSB and international aviation…
