Narrative:

I was working local control. Our active runway configuration was landing runway 5 and departing runway 31. A helicopter called from the north side of the airport; and asked to go VFR to the southwest. We have a clearance delivery position and it was staffed. Occasionally; traffic permitting; ground clearance and local control will give aircraft clearances. As a rule of thumb; I do not issue aircraft clearances on local control frequency; but do sometimes give helicopters their clearances. The helicopter had no class C clearance; but was already airborne on the GA ramp. As most of our helicopters are single-pilot situations; I elected to give him the verbal clearance and had clearance delivery put the flight plan information into the stars for radar flight following; this avoided having the pilot change frequencies while airborne and close to the ground. To avoid having to switch frequencies to talk with ground clearance; I apreqed the usage of taxiway a and his request to depart runway 23 with ground clearance and got approval. I then taxied the helicopter to runway 23 via a. After a little time; ground clearance asked to cross runway 5 at taxiway D. Taxiway D is 1;900 ft southwest of the approach end of runway 23. I approved the vehicle crossing at taxiway D. The closest traffic on final for runway 5 was still approximately 12 miles out. I then glanced back at the helicopter and was surprised at its appearance. It was airborne; facing to the southwest and headed southbound slowly. It appeared to be on runway 23 in a takeoff manner. I quickly tried to figure out the best course of action; and decided to clear the helicopter for takeoff. I also gave the helicopter a 180-degree heading. The vehicle only had to cross a 150 ft runway and had made no request or given no indication to delay its progress northwest bound on taxiway D. The vehicle wasn't making any repairs or inspections; but going from point a to point B; generally; they move along at a good clip when doing this. This was the case on this occasion as well. Closest proximity was approximately 1;800 ft horizontally and 50-100 ft vertical. The helicopter started out near the approach end of the runway about 30 ft in the air; 1;900 ft horizontal from the vehicle. As the helicopter went southbound; distance might have diminished to approximately 1;800 ft horizontal and 50-100 ft vertical. My best guess on these distances. The taxiway the vehicle was on was a parallel taxiway for runway 13/31. I'm unaware if either the truck or the helicopter saw each other; neither one mentioned seeing each other. Recommendation; prior to this event; there were other ongoing events; each requiring time and attention. There was a runway 31 departure and some arrivals for runway 5. Adding a vehicle crossing; a helicopter on local frequency without a clearance; taxi instructions and an opposite-direction departure request only added to the complexity of the operation. The situation could've been simplified for me by having the helicopter get a clearance from clearance delivery and taxi instructions from ground control. This would have allowed me more time to concentrate on the local control position and its duties. Many times; in an effort to 'serve' helicopters better; it's easy to add complexity to a position's workload. Avoiding frequency changes for single-pilot helicopter operations while airborne at low altitudes is encouraged for helicopter safety. Many times our helicopters are flown by one pilot. I do not know if there was more than one pilot. I could also have had him use a separate frequency and had clearance delivery and ground control each separately use the frequency as appropriate before the aircraft came to me for takeoff clearance. It is not wrong for ground control to ask to cross the active runway at any time. Our local order suggests that ground control should ask at a time when it would most likely be safe to cross. It's a suggestion that helps us work together as a teamin a safer manner. Had ground control done this; it would have prevented this occurrence. Once again; though; it is not wrong for ground control to ask for a crossing at any time; local control gives the approval. I approved the crossing. I accept that I could have advised the helicopter that departure would be from taxiway a and not used runway 5/23 for him. The helicopter appeared to be starting a departure on runway 23 without authorization. I did have other options: I could have said nothing immediately and advised ground control of the helicopter's movement. I could have told the helicopter to 'use caution; proceed southbound'. I could have cleared the helicopter for takeoff on runway 5 to the northeast. As local control and controller in charge positions weren't combined with any other positions; I could have told the helicopter to 'line up and wait' on runway 23. I think for myself; I need to be more aware of my options in any given situation. I would be better able to exercise them should I need to. This means more attention to pre-planning. Another thing I could do is deselect local control frequencies during crossings. No matter how brief. This would prevent any takeoff clearances from being issued. I could also use our rid (runway incursion device) more. We have a device that we activate for operations 'other than immediate crossings'. If activated; this device will make an aural 'check runway' noise if local control tries to transmit. My main recommendation: I already use the rid for everything except 'immediate' crossings'. I will expand usage of it to include 'immediate' crossings'. I think this will be a good expansion of a useful aid. Bottom line for me is that I need to do what I've been doing for a long time and not clear aircraft for takeoff with a vehicle on the runway. I had other options leading up to the event and had other options at the moment of the event I could have utilized.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DSM Controller described a loss of separation between a departing helicopter and a vehicle; the reporter providing multiple options that would have prevented the incident.

Narrative: I was working Local Control. Our active Runway configuration was landing Runway 5 and departing Runway 31. A helicopter called from the north side of the airport; and asked to go VFR to the southwest. We have a Clearance Delivery position and it was staffed. Occasionally; traffic permitting; Ground Clearance and Local Control will give aircraft clearances. As a rule of thumb; I do not issue aircraft clearances on Local Control frequency; but do sometimes give helicopters their clearances. The helicopter had no Class C clearance; but was already airborne on the GA ramp. As most of our helicopters are single-pilot situations; I elected to give him the verbal clearance and had Clearance Delivery put the flight plan information into the STARS for RADAR flight following; this avoided having the pilot change frequencies while airborne and close to the ground. To avoid having to switch frequencies to talk with Ground Clearance; I APREQED the usage of Taxiway A and his request to depart Runway 23 with Ground Clearance and got approval. I then taxied the helicopter to Runway 23 via A. After a little time; Ground Clearance asked to cross Runway 5 at Taxiway D. Taxiway D is 1;900 FT southwest of the approach end of Runway 23. I approved the vehicle crossing at Taxiway D. The closest traffic on final for Runway 5 was still approximately 12 miles out. I then glanced back at the helicopter and was surprised at its appearance. It was airborne; facing to the southwest and headed southbound slowly. It appeared to be on Runway 23 in a takeoff manner. I quickly tried to figure out the best course of action; and decided to clear the helicopter for takeoff. I also gave the helicopter a 180-degree heading. The vehicle only had to cross a 150 FT runway and had made no request or given no indication to delay its progress northwest bound on Taxiway D. The vehicle wasn't making any repairs or inspections; but going from point A to point B; generally; they move along at a good clip when doing this. This was the case on this occasion as well. Closest proximity was approximately 1;800 FT horizontally and 50-100 FT vertical. The helicopter started out near the approach end of the runway about 30 FT in the air; 1;900 FT horizontal from the vehicle. As the helicopter went southbound; distance might have diminished to approximately 1;800 FT horizontal and 50-100 FT vertical. My best guess on these distances. The taxiway the vehicle was on was a parallel taxiway for Runway 13/31. I'm unaware if either the truck or the helicopter saw each other; neither one mentioned seeing each other. Recommendation; prior to this event; there were other ongoing events; each requiring time and attention. There was a Runway 31 departure and some arrivals for Runway 5. Adding a vehicle crossing; a helicopter on Local frequency without a clearance; taxi instructions and an opposite-direction departure request only added to the complexity of the operation. The situation could've been simplified for me by having the helicopter get a clearance from Clearance Delivery and taxi instructions from Ground Control. This would have allowed me more time to concentrate on the Local Control position and its duties. Many times; in an effort to 'serve' helicopters better; it's easy to add complexity to a position's workload. Avoiding frequency changes for single-pilot helicopter operations while airborne at low altitudes is encouraged for helicopter safety. Many times our helicopters are flown by one pilot. I do not know if there was more than one pilot. I could also have had him use a separate frequency and had Clearance Delivery and Ground Control each separately use the frequency as appropriate before the aircraft came to me for takeoff clearance. It is not wrong for Ground Control to ask to cross the active runway at any time. Our local order suggests that Ground Control should ask at a time when it would most likely be safe to cross. It's a suggestion that helps us work together as a teamin a safer manner. Had Ground Control done this; it would have prevented this occurrence. Once again; though; it is not wrong for Ground Control to ask for a crossing at any time; Local Control gives the approval. I approved the crossing. I accept that I could have advised the helicopter that departure would be from Taxiway A and not used Runway 5/23 for him. The helicopter appeared to be starting a departure on Runway 23 without authorization. I did have other options: I could have said nothing immediately and advised Ground Control of the helicopter's movement. I could have told the helicopter to 'Use caution; proceed southbound'. I could have cleared the helicopter for takeoff on Runway 5 to the northeast. As Local Control and Controller in Charge positions weren't combined with any other positions; I could have told the helicopter to 'line up and wait' on Runway 23. I think for myself; I need to be more aware of my options in any given situation. I would be better able to exercise them should I need to. This means more attention to pre-planning. Another thing I could do is deselect Local Control frequencies during crossings. No matter how brief. This would prevent any takeoff clearances from being issued. I could also use our RID (Runway Incursion Device) more. We have a device that we activate for operations 'other than immediate crossings'. If activated; this device will make an aural 'Check Runway' noise if Local Control tries to transmit. My main recommendation: I already use the RID for everything except 'immediate' crossings'. I will expand usage of it to include 'immediate' crossings'. I think this will be a good expansion of a useful aid. Bottom line for me is that I need to do what I've been doing for a long time and not clear aircraft for takeoff with a vehicle on the runway. I had other options leading up to the event and had other options at the moment of the event I could have utilized.

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.