Tower controller cleared an aircraft for takeoff failing to note a previously coordinated vehicle st...

Narrative:

I was working low volume traffic. There was a tour of three people in the tower cab which may have been a distraction. I had coordinated approval for a vehicle to work on runway X/xy. A citabria called ready to go runway X/xy. I gave a quick scan of the runway and cleared the aircraft for departure on a runway heading forgetting about the vehicle that had been working for several minutes. Shortly after the aircraft had started his takeoff roll both the ground controller and one of the visitors said the vehicle was still on the runway. I cancelled the citabria's takeoff clearance and held his position on the runway. He resumed his departure roll once the vehicle had cleared the runway and I had given him a takeoff clearance. I would recommend a thorough scan of the runway prior to clearing anybody for takeoff. I had just done a quick scan and missed the vehicle because it was parked along the edge of the runway. The runway in use memory aid was on the podium; but I did not glance at the podium when clearing the aircraft for takeoff. If I had been holding it instead it could have been prevented.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Tower Controller cleared an aircraft for takeoff failing to note a previously coordinated vehicle still on the runway and necessitating a cancellation of the takeoff clearance.

Narrative: I was working low volume traffic. There was a tour of three people in the tower cab which may have been a distraction. I had coordinated approval for a vehicle to work on Runway X/XY. A Citabria called ready to go Runway X/XY. I gave a quick scan of the runway and cleared the aircraft for departure on a runway heading forgetting about the vehicle that had been working for several minutes. Shortly after the aircraft had started his takeoff roll both the Ground Controller and one of the visitors said the vehicle was still on the runway. I cancelled the Citabria's takeoff clearance and held his position on the runway. He resumed his departure roll once the vehicle had cleared the runway and I had given him a takeoff clearance. I would recommend a thorough scan of the runway prior to clearing anybody for takeoff. I had just done a quick scan and missed the vehicle because it was parked along the edge of the runway. The runway in use memory aid was on the podium; but I did not glance at the podium when clearing the aircraft for takeoff. If I had been holding it instead it could have been prevented.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1104868
Time
Date	201307
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Champion Citabria Undifferentiated
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Function	Local
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Person 2
Function	Ground
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Ground Conflict Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Tower controller cleared an aircraft for takeoff failing to note a previously coordinated vehicle still on the runway and necessitating a cancellation of the takeoff clearance.