A319, Las Vegas NV USA, 2006 (RE HF)

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Summary

On 30 January 2006, an Air Canada A319, departing Las Vegas, USA, unintentionally began a night take off with the aircraft aligned with the runway edge lights, then corrected to the runway centreline and continued departure with damage to runway lights and the Nose landing Gear tyres subsequently found.

Event Details
When	January 2006
Event Type	HF, RE
Day/Night	Night
Flight Conditions	On Ground - Normal Visibility

Flight Details
Aircraft	AIRBUS A-319
Operator	Air Canada
Domicile	Canada
Type of Flight	Public Transport (Passenger)
Origin	Las Vegas McCarren International
Intended Destination	Montreal/Mirabel
Actual Destination	Montreal/Mirabel
Flight Phase	Take Off
	TOF

Location - Airport
Airport	Las Vegas McCarren International

General
Tag(s)	Event reporting non compliant

HF
Tag(s)	Distraction Ineffective Monitoring Procedural non compliance

RE
Tag(s)	Misalignment on runway

Outcome
Damage or injury	Yes
Aircraft damage	Minor
Non-aircraft damage	Yes

Causal Factor Group(s)
Group(s)	Aircraft Operation Airport Operation

Safety Recommendation(s)
Group(s)	None Made

Investigation Type
Type	Independent

Misaligned Takeoff

Contents 1 Description 2 Summary 3 Related Articles 4 Further Reading

Description

On 30 January 2006, an Air Canada A319, departing Las Vegas USA, unintentionally began a night take off with the aircraft aligned with the runway edge lights, then corrected to the runway centreline and continued departure with damage to runway lights and the Nose landing Gear tyres subsequently found.

Summary

The following is extracted from the official Transport Safety Board (Canada) Report:

Summary

"An Airbus A319-114 (registration C-FYKR, serial number 0693) operating as Air Canada Flight 596, with 84 passengers and 5 crew members on board, was on a scheduled flight from Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, to Montréal, Quebec. The aircraft was cleared to depart Runway 25R and the crew commenced a rolling take-off at 0015 Pacific standard time. Shortly thereafter, both members of the flight crew realized that the aircraft was rolling on the asphalt runway shoulder instead of on the runway centreline. At approximately 65 knots indicated airspeed, the pilot flying applied left rudder to realign the aircraft with the runway centreline and completed the take-off. The flight continued to Montréal where an uneventful landing was carried out. During the flight to Montréal, the crew advised company dispatch of the departure occurrence. Dispatch advised the Las Vegas tower that the aircraft may have damaged some runway edge lights during the take-off roll. Three runway edge lights were found damaged. The only damage noted on the aircraft was a cut on the left-hand nose-wheel tire. There were no injuries."

Finding as to Causes and Contributing Factors

• "The pilot flying likely relied on peripheral vision to taxi the aircraft because of the requirement to maintain separation with the aircraft departing ahead. This, combined with the aerodrome markings, resulted in the misalignment of the aircraft and the initiation of the take-off from the asphalt runway shoulder instead of the runway centreline."

Findings as to Risk

• "A rolling take-off reduces the crew’s time for conducting a thorough outside visual check and verifying runway alignment before initiating the take-off roll.
• Taxiways B1 and A2 centrelines curve onto the runway edge line. At night, this could result in pilots aligning their aircraft with the runway side stripe marking instead of with the runway centreline.
• This occurrence was reported to company dispatch and air traffic services two hours after the event. During that time, debris left by the broken lights could have posed a hazard for other aircraft using Runway 25R."

Other Finding

• "The other three similar events that happened on Runway 25R at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (KLAS) were not reported. Failure to declare such events deprives investigators of important data that could help to identify the contributing factors that lead to this type of event."

Safety Action Taken

"The Las Vegas airport authority made modifications to the taxiway markings following the occurrence. At Taxiway B1, the radius of the taxiway centreline was extended past the runway edge line and now meets with the runway centreline in the displaced threshold arrow area. At Taxiway A2, the radius of the taxiway centreline that curves to the runway edge line was erased, and the taxiway centreline now extends to the threshold markings."

Related Articles

• Runway Excursion

Further Reading

• For further information, see the full TSB Report