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Tower controller described confused event following an emergency operation that closed the runway; noting airport vehicle should not change frequencies when relaying information to ATC without notification.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 904668 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201008 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Bonanza 35 |
| Flight Phase | Takeoff |
| Route In Use | None |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Local |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Incursion Runway |
Narrative:
A heavy jet landed and advised that he was unable to clear the runway due to a steering problem. I gave the runway to the ground controller to move the fire trucks and emergency personnel around. Thirty minutes later I had about 5 aircraft waiting for depart. When the county operations unit came on frequency and told me that the runway was operational again and was mine to use; I removed my placard saying the runway was closed and launched an aircraft. As I cleared the aircraft for departure the ground controller released the runway back to me. Recommendation; the county unit should not change frequencies with out notifying the other position. The county unit was talking to ground all the time until he advised me that the runway was reopened.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Tower Controller described confused event following an emergency operation that closed the runway; noting airport vehicle should not change frequencies when relaying information to ATC without notification.
Narrative: A heavy jet landed and advised that he was unable to clear the runway due to a steering problem. I gave the runway to the Ground Controller to move the fire trucks and emergency personnel around. Thirty minutes later I had about 5 aircraft waiting for depart. When the county operations unit came on frequency and told me that the runway was operational again and was mine to use; I removed my placard saying the runway was closed and launched an aircraft. As I cleared the aircraft for departure the Ground Controller released the runway back to me. Recommendation; the county unit should not change frequencies with out notifying the other position. The county unit was talking to Ground all the time until he advised me that the runway was reopened.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.