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| Date: | Saturday 4 February 2023 |
| Time: | 06:40 |
| Type: |  Boeing 767-32LF |
| Owner/operator: | FedEx |
| Registration: | N297FE |
| MSN: | 41068/1027 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2012 |
| Engine model: | GE CF6-80C2B6F |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, TX (AUS/KAUS) -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Memphis International Airport, TN (MEM/KMEM) |
| Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, TX (AUS/KAUS) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Southwest Airlines flight WN708, a Boeing 737-700, N7827A, and FedEx flight FX1432, a Boeing 767-300F, N297FE, were involved in a runway incursion at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Texas. The flight crew of the FedEx airplane, which was arriving on runway 18L, executed a missed approach as the Southwest airplane was departing from the same runway.
The Austin Airport Air Traffic Control Tower (AUS ATCT) Air Traffic Manager (ATM) stated at the time of the incident, there was an extremely low traffic volume and complexity at AUS. The weather at the time of the incident was low instrument flight rules with the following conditions being reported: wind calm, visibility 1/4 mile in freezing fog, vertical visibility 200 ft above ground level, and a temperature minus 1 degree Celsius.
At about 06:34, the pilots of FX1432 established communication with the local controller and reported their flight was inbound and established on a CAT III instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 18L. The controller provided the pilots with the runway visual range (RVR) values and cleared them to land. The pilots acknowledged this information.
At 06:38:49, the first officer (FO) of WN708 checked in with the local controller and indicated they were holding short of runway 18L and were ready for takeoff. The controller provided them with RVR values, advised them that a FedEx 767 was on a three-mile final (FX1432), and issued them a standard takeoff clearance from runway 18L. The FO of WN708 acknowledged the clearance with a correct readback. WN708 proceeded to taxi onto runway 18L and lined up with the runway centerline and came to a complete stop at which point, control of the aircraft was transferred from the captain to the FO. The FO indicated that he advanced the power, checked the engines, and then released the brakes to begin their takeoff roll.
At 06:39:32, the pilots of FX1432 queried the local controller to confirm that they were cleared to land on runway 18L. According to the captain of FX1432, he asked for confirmation because he was concerned about the Southwest traffic. The controller confirmed FX1432 was cleared to land and advised them of traffic (WN708) departing runway 18L ahead of him.
At 06:40:12, with FX1432 on an approximate 0.7-mile final, the local controller queried WN708 to confirm they were on the roll, to which the captain of WN708 replied “rolling now.” According to the captain of FX1432, he noted that at an altitude of about 150 feet, the FO called go-around after visually seeing WN708 at approximately 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet from the approach end of the runway. At 06:40:34 one of the FX1432 crew broadcasted “Southwest abort” and then at 06:40:37 broadcasted that “FedEx is on the go.”
At the same time the absolute separation between the tail of WN708 and the fuselage of the flying airplane was 150-170 ft, less than the length of the Boeing 767 airplane.
According to the WN708 pilot narratives, the captain noted that somewhere between the speeds of 80 KIAS and V1, he and the first officer heard FedEx call for a go-around.
When FX1432 was at the departure end of the runway climbing out of 1,900 feet, the controller instructed FX1432 to turn left heading 080 and maintain 3,000 feet. At the same time, WN708 was about 1,000 ft lower than FDX1432 and began a right turn away from the runway heading.
Probable Cause:
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this incident was the local controller’s incorrect assumption that the Southwest Airlines (SWA) airplane would depart from the runway before the Federal Express airplane arrived on the same runway, which resulted in a loss of separation between both airplanes.
Contributing to the controller’s incorrect assumption were
• his expectation bias regarding the SWA airplane’s departure,
• his lack of situational awareness regarding the SWA airplane’s position when the flight crew requested takeoff clearance, and
• the air traffic control tower’s lack of training (before the incident) on low-visibility operations.
Contributing to the incident was the SWA flight crewmembers’ failure to account for the traffic that was on short final approach and to notify the controller that they would need additional time on the runway before the takeoff roll. Also contributing to the incident was the Federal Aviation Administration’s failure to require surface detection equipment at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and direct alerting for flight crews.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/crash-averted-austin-airport-faa-ntsb-investigate-968993953
NTSB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N297FE/history/20230204/0945Z/KMEM/KAUS
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a30ffd&lat=30.217&lon=-97.672&zoom=13.0&showTrace=2023-02-04&leg=3×tamp=1675514424
https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/ntsb-faa-investigating-fedex-southwest-close-call-in-austin/
https://www.planespotters.net/photo/974061/n297fe-fedex-express-boeing-767-32lf (photo)
Location
Images:
Media:
ATC Recording of the Austin Airport incident! ?
— John-Carlos Estrada (@Mr_JCE) February 5, 2023
Close call at AUS this morning after a FedEx 767 was cleared to land while a Southwest 737 was still on the runway. pic.twitter.com/gAss8daltn
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Jul-2024 09:15 | ASN | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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