NTSB Releases Preliminary Report Over Southwest Boeing 737 Closed Runway Departure

The NTSB released the preliminary report of the investigation earlier this week regarding Southwest Airlines flight WN-4805, which took off from a closed runway late last month. Although no one was hurt in this incident, it was a serious incident, nevertheless, with the potential for catastrophic outcomes.

The incident

Nearly three weeks ago, on June 25th, a Boeing 737-700 aircraft operated by Southwest Airlines took off from Portland International Jetport (PWM) to Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) using a closed runway. The details surrounding the incident are as follows:

It is reported that though there was an airport operations vehicle on the runway when the 737 lined up on runway 29, the vehicle had vacated the runway before the pilots applied any power for the take-off roll.

According to The Aviation Herald, the ATC audio reveals that shortly after the aircraft took off, the ground operations team contacted the tower, asking if they had communicated with the aircraft regarding the runway closure. The tower replied, stating that they had not had any contact with the aircraft as the tower was not operational at the time.

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Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 Departs From Closed Runway At Portland International Jetport

The airline departed safely and continued its flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Friday released the findings of the preliminary investigation report.

Preliminary findings

The NTSB was notified of the incident on the same day and began its investigation to identify the root cause. From the preliminary investigation, it has been identified that the flight crew did have access to the latest information and relevant weather packets, and all 32 NOTAMs, including the one stating runways 11/29, will be closed until 05:45. The following is an extract from the NTSB Preliminary Report:

“In addition, part of the weather packet included a content page that included a message that all flights departing from PWM before 0545 must call their dispatcher and receive a briefing from the Chief Pilot who was on call about departing from runway 18/36 which is one of the shortest runways within the SWA system. The flight crew did not see the content page nor did they call for a briefing.”

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

The report further states that according to the crew members involved, the captain and the first officer did acknowledge the NOTAM stating that runway 29 was closed on Saturdays and Sundays until 05:45 and that the PWM tower would be closed until 05:45, therefore requiring them to contact Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center for the IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) clearance.

Another extract regarding this from the report sheds light on some more information:

“The flight crew also reviewed the NOTAMs and noted that runway 29 was closed on Saturdays and Sundays until 0545. The captain incorrectly assumed that any additional days for the runway closure would be in the same NOTAM. The flight crew members did not see the separate NOTAM addressing the runway closure on the other days of the week; the NOTAM was underneath another application.”

Over the UNICOM

The report reveals that the flight crew utilized the Universal Communication (UNICOM) frequency at PWM because the tower was not operational at the time and did, on various occasions, broadcast their intention to taxi to runway 29 for departure.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Furthermore, the flight crew had also communicated multiple times with Portland Traffic and Boston Center regarding their intentions to taxi to runway 29 and, shortly before reaching the runway, received a clearance void time with climb instructions all the way to 4,000 feet.

Another finding in the report was that, according to the flight crew, no equipment or illuminated “X” markings were present on the runway to indicate that it was closed for takeoff and landing at the time.

Considering the critical nature of the incident, it is important to identify the root cause of how this incident occurred so that the entire industry can navigate or learn from any potential errors, thereby making the future of air travel even safer.