AN ACR LGT CREW MISSED A TURN ONTO RWY 21D AT DTW. THEY WERE ABLE TO TURN AROUND AT A TXWY INTXN.

Date: 1993-02 · Aircraft: Large Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng

Anomalies: deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance|other-runway-or-taxiway-excursion

Synopsis

AN ACR LGT CREW MISSED A TURN ONTO RWY 21D AT DTW. THEY WERE ABLE TO TURN AROUND AT A TXWY INTXN.

Narrative

AT DTW ACFT WAS CLRED TO TAXI FROM TERMINAL VIA RAMP TO OSCAR 4 TO OUTER TXWY TO RWY 21C. CREW INADVERTENTLY TAXIED PAST TURNOFF TO DEP END OF 21C. THE OUTER TXWY CONTINUES TO THE GA AREA. THE ACFT WAS STOPPED AT FIRST TXWY (NEXT) AND THEN REQUESTED DIRECTIONS FROM TWR. CREW WAS ADVISED TO MAKE A L TURN AND THEN REVERSE COURSE IN THE ACR MAINT HANGAR AREA. (CHK COMMERCIAL PLATE 10-9 (23 OCT. 92) AT KDTW.) ONCE THE L TURN WAS MADE IT IMMEDIATELY BECAME APPARENT THAT ENTRY TO AND MANEUVER IN THE ACR AREA WAS IMPOSSIBLE. TWR THEN ADVISED THAT THE TXWY INTERSECTING THE TXWY WE WERE ON WAS CLOSED. THE CREW WAS THEN FORCED TO MAKE AN EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE 180 DEG TURN ON THE INTXN OF THE 2 TXWYS SO AS TO BE ABLE TO RETURN TO RWY 21C. THE INITIAL ERROR WAS; OF COURSE; THE CREW MISSING THE TURNOFF TO RWY 21C. LACK OF FAMILIARITY WITH THE ARPT WAS COMPOUNDED BY OUR FOLLOWING A CORP JET WHICH WAS GOING TO THE GA AREA; NOT RWY 21C. THE PROB WAS COMPOUNDED BY THE TAXI INSTRUCTIONS ISSUED BY THE TWR AND THE FACT THAT OUR COMMERCIAL CHART DID NOT INDICATE THE TXWY AHEAD OF US WAS CLOSED. I WOULD RECOMMEND DETROIT GND/TWR PERSONNEL BE MADE AWARE OF THE SIT A LARGE ACFT FACES SHOULD IT MISS THE TURNOFF TO RWY 21C. I DO NOT KNOW IF FURTHER TAXI TO THE GA AREA WOULD HAVE ALLOWED A COURSE REVERSAL. I ALSO SUGGEST THAT PERHAPS CLOSED TXWYS BE BETTER INDICATED ON OUR CHARTS. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTING CAPT TAKES FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR MISSING THE TURN ONTO RWY 21C. HE DOES NOT KNOW WHY THE GND CTLR TOLD HIM THAT THE NE/SW TXWY IN FRONT ON THE ACR HANGARS WAS CLOSED. THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN SNOW BUT HE DOESN'T REMEMBER. A CHAT WITH THE MAN WHO ANSWERED THE TELEPHONE IN THE DTW TWR SHED NO MORE LIGHT ON THIS. THERE WAS NO TXWY CLOSURE IN THAT AREA AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. NO INCIDENTS WERE RECORDED FOR FEB/93.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.