Narrative:

Pilot departed the cargo ramp and taxied to runway 22. He made the CTAF advisory and turned on the runway lights. The control tower was closed. He heard no other traffic; and began the takeoff roll. As he rotated at the intersection with runway 16; he saw an airport operations truck cross runway 22 just below him. Had he not rotated at that time; a collision would have occurred. He estimates he missed the truck 'by inches' but it was probably closer to 50' vertically. The pilot reported that he declared his intentions on the CTAF. The operations person conducting a runway check also said he declared his intentions on CTAF. Neither heard each other. The pilot; who operates regularly out of aby; reported that there have been other instances where aircraft have lined up and taken off on runway [4] after he reported he was taking runway 22. The control tower supervisor conducted an investigation and found that the CTAF is not reliable. Aircraft and vehicles on the cargo ramp do not hear aircraft and vehicles on the passenger ramp! This has been reported to the FAA for investigation into the communication problems. A NOTAM was put out today advising that the CTAF is not reliable. This is an accident waiting to happen! The fact that it was suspected that there may be a communication problem because of previous close encounters; but not reported; is alarming. When operating at uncontrolled airports; it is imperative that pilots assume the other traffic does not hear them and react accordingly.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Reporter described communication problems at ABY that do not allow aircraft and vehicles on the ground to hear each other on the CTAF. In this instance; a near collision with an airport operations vehicle occurred during takeoff. Both the pilot and the vehicle operator announced their intentions on the CTAF; but neither was heard by the other.

Narrative: Pilot departed the cargo ramp and taxied to Runway 22. He made the CTAF advisory and turned on the runway lights. The Control Tower was closed. He heard no other traffic; and began the takeoff roll. As he rotated at the intersection with Runway 16; he saw an airport operations truck cross Runway 22 just below him. Had he not rotated at that time; a collision would have occurred. He estimates he missed the truck 'by inches' but it was probably closer to 50' vertically. The pilot reported that he declared his intentions on the CTAF. The operations person conducting a runway check also said he declared his intentions on CTAF. Neither heard each other. The pilot; who operates regularly out of ABY; reported that there have been other instances where aircraft have lined up and taken off on Runway [4] after he reported he was taking Runway 22. The Control Tower Supervisor conducted an investigation and found that the CTAF is not reliable. Aircraft and vehicles on the cargo ramp do not hear aircraft and vehicles on the passenger ramp! This has been reported to the FAA for investigation into the communication problems. A NOTAM was put out today advising that the CTAF is not reliable. This is an accident waiting to happen! The fact that it was suspected that there may be a communication problem because of previous close encounters; but not reported; is alarming. When operating at uncontrolled airports; it is imperative that pilots assume the other traffic does not hear them and react accordingly.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.