Narrative:

On departure; I deviated from an ATC instruction unintentionally. I was cleared to depart runway 27L from intersection C. However; I lined up and departed 9R. During [that] time; I was waiting for the thunderstorm that was over the field to move east. I think I was concerned that I would need an early turn north if they were using 9 for departure. (I had not yet received the ATIS at that point).no traffic control conflict occurred. I turned on course and coordinated with ATC immediately while airborne. Never left the airport property. Effectively departing the correct runway direction. I had delayed my departure due to weather over the airport and just north of the airport on my route. I admit that I was fixated on the weather so much that I made this error. All I can think of; as to how I built a mental plan to depart 9R; was that the [ATIS] information J at mlb was 'mlb J 340/04 10 9500 ovc 23/22 29.99. Departure 27L 9L/27R closed 5/23 closed.' my mind clued in on 9 for departure. In fact; I even set my heading bug to 090. Somehow while worried mostly about the weather. I mentally pictured departing 9R at c. Not sure how I made that mistake. As the only 9[left] listed was the closed runway.I was the only aircraft operating in the airport area. Obviously if there was any other departures my flawed mental plan would have self-corrected itself. Typically; when I depart mlb IFR; there is up to a 5 minutes delay from ready to cleared due to coordination with orlando approach. This departure; I was cleared immediately for takeoff. After my run up; I was again looking at both xm and adsb weather; as I called ready for departure. So my focus was not on the runway as it should have been but mostly on the weather. Contributing factors: • weather; no other airport traffic before my departure (I was looking as I arrived at the airport and completed my preflight and final weather checks)• airport construction; for a 27 departure typically taxi routing would alleviate any confusion.• ATIS listing the closed runway with 9 listed first.• quicker than expected takeoff clearance.how I will change my procedures to ensure never making this mistake again. I do fly for a living. In fact; I will be incorporating the runway verification procedure we use on the jet aircraft at my company into my GA flying from now on. Sadly; I didn't make that procedural change in my GA flying. This is the first significant error I have made in my over 34 years as a licensed pilot in the general aviation.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: RV-7 pilot reported that he took off from the opposite runway than was assigned because of weather and other distractions.

Narrative: On departure; I deviated from an ATC instruction unintentionally. I was cleared to depart runway 27L from intersection C. However; I lined up and departed 9R. During [that] time; I was waiting for the thunderstorm that was over the field to move east. I think I was concerned that I would need an early turn north if they were using 9 for departure. (I had not yet received the ATIS at that point).No traffic control conflict occurred. I turned on course and coordinated with ATC IMMEDIATELY while airborne. Never left the airport property. Effectively departing the correct runway direction. I had delayed my departure due to weather over the airport and just north of the airport on my route. I admit that I was fixated on the weather so much that I made this error. All I can think of; as to how I built a mental plan to depart 9R; was that the [ATIS] information J at MLB was 'MLB J 340/04 10 9500 OVC 23/22 29.99. Departure 27L 9L/27R closed 5/23 closed.' My mind clued in on 9 for departure. In fact; I even set my heading bug to 090. Somehow while worried mostly about the weather. I mentally pictured departing 9R at c. Not sure how I made that mistake. As the only 9[L] listed was the closed runway.I was the only aircraft operating in the airport area. Obviously if there was any other departures my flawed mental plan would have self-corrected itself. Typically; when I depart MLB IFR; there is up to a 5 minutes delay from ready to cleared due to coordination with Orlando approach. This departure; I was cleared immediately for takeoff. After my run up; I was again looking at both XM and ADSB Weather; as I called ready for departure. So my focus was not on the runway as it should have been but mostly on the weather. Contributing factors: • Weather; No other airport traffic before my departure (I was looking as I arrived at the airport and completed my preflight and final weather checks)• Airport construction; For a 27 departure typically taxi routing would alleviate any confusion.• ATIS listing the closed runway with 9 listed first.• Quicker than expected takeoff clearance.How I will change my procedures to ensure never making this mistake again. I do fly for a living. In fact; I will be incorporating the runway verification procedure we use on the jet aircraft at my company into my GA flying from now on. Sadly; I didn't make that procedural change in my GA flying. This is the first significant error I have made in my over 34 years as a licensed pilot in the General Aviation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.