WHILE ENRTE; A COMMUTER FLC DIVERTED TO PVD WHEN THEIR DEST WAS CLOSED FOR SNOW REMOVAL. WHILE ON THE GND AT PVD; THE FLC WAS INFORMED THAT PVD RWYS WERE CLOSED UNLESS 30 MINS PRIOR PERMISSION WAS RECEIVED FROM CTR. SHORTLY AFTER THAT; THE FLC DEPARTED WHEN THEY RECEIVED THEIR IFR CLRNC FROM FSS.
Synopsis
WHILE ENRTE; A COMMUTER FLC DIVERTED TO PVD WHEN THEIR DEST WAS CLOSED FOR SNOW REMOVAL. WHILE ON THE GND AT PVD; THE FLC WAS INFORMED THAT PVD RWYS WERE CLOSED UNLESS 30 MINS PRIOR PERMISSION WAS RECEIVED FROM CTR. SHORTLY AFTER THAT; THE FLC DEPARTED WHEN THEY RECEIVED THEIR IFR CLRNC FROM FSS.
Narrative
FLT DEPARTED JFK. TRIP WAS UNEVENTFUL UNTIL WHILE ON VECTORS TO FINAL APCH AT BOS. AT THAT TIME WE WERE INFORMED THAT BOS WAS CLOSED FOR SNOW REMOVAL. WE THEN DECIDED TO DIVERT TO OUR FILED ALTERNATE ARPT PVD. WE MADE AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG IN LIGHT SNOW ON RWY 23 AT PVD. WHILE SITTING AT THE GATE AT PVD; TWR INFORMED US THAT THE TWR WAS NOW CLOSED. MEANWHILE; IN COORD WITH OUR COMPANY; IT WAS DECIDED WE WOULD REFUEL THE ACFT AND WAIT UNTIL BOS REOPENED. OUR COMPANY DISPATCH FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN FOR OUR LEG FROM PVD TO BOS. I CONTACTED BRIDGEPORT CLRNC AND WAS INFORMED BY THE CTLR THAT BOS WAS STILL CLOSED AND NO CLRNC WOULD BE AVAILABLE UNTIL BOS REOPENED. I THEN TOLD THE CTLR I WOULD BE MONITORING FREQ AND WOULD HE PLEASE CONTACT US WITH ANY UPDATES. THE CTLR AT BRIDGEPORT CLRNC GAVE US THE FOLLOWING NOTAM FOR PVD: 'RWY 16/34 CLOSED; RWY 5/23 CLOSED; AVAILABLE WITH 30 MINS PRIOR PERMISSION.' WE THEN ASKED THE CTLR 'WHO DO WE GET THE PRIOR PERMISSION FROM;' AND HE REPLIED 'ZBW CTLS IT.' AROUND THIS TIME I NOTICED A SNOWPLOW ON RWY 5/23 AND ASSUMED THAT RWY WAS CLOSED FOR SNOW REMOVAL. WE THEN GOT OUR ACFT DEICED AND MEANWHILE THE LIGHT SNOW HAD STOPPED. BRIDGEPORT CLRNC TOLD US TO EXPECT RELEASE FROM ZBW WITHIN 30 MINS. WE THEN REPLIED TO THEM WE WERE GOING TO TAXI OUT TO RWY 23 SO WE WOULD BE READY TO GO WHEN ZBW RELEASED US. AROUND THIS TIME WE NOTICED WHAT APPEARED TO BE AN ACR B737 LAND ON RWY 23; SO WE PROCEEDED TO TAXI TO RWY 23. AT THIS POINT THE RWY 5/23 RWY LIGHTS WERE ON (THE RWY 16/34 RWY LIGHTS WERE OUT); AND ALL SNOW REMOVAL ON RWY 5/23 APPEARED TO BE COMPLETED. WE HELD SHORT OF RWY 23 ON TXWY A TO AWAIT OUR RELEASE. AT THIS POINT THE RWY 23 APCH LIGHTS; HIGH INTENSITY RWY LIGHTS AND CTRLINE LIGHTS WERE ALL ON. THE RWY WAS PLOWED AND THE VISIBILITY WAS GOOD; AS THE SNOW HAD STOPPED; WE COULD EASILY SEE THE LENGTH OF THE RWY. WE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING CLRNC FROM BRIDGEPORT CLRNC: 'CLRED TO BOSTON VIA HDG 140 DEGS; CLB TO 2000 FT; CONTACT ZBW; VOID TIME 10 MINS.' WE THEN INFORMED BRIDGEPORT CLRNC WE WERE TAKING OFF AT THIS TIME ON RWY 23. I MADE A CALL IN THE BLIND; AND AFTER VISUALLY CLRING THE FINAL AND THE RWY; WE MADE AN UNEVENTFUL TKOF. ON DEP WE CONTACTED ZBW ON OUR ASSIGNED FREQ AND COMPLETED AN UNEVENTFUL FLT TO BOSTON. SEVERAL DAYS LATER I WAS INFORMED BY OUR UNION REPRESENTATIVES THAT WE WERE BEING INVESTIGATED FOR TAKING OFF FROM A CLOSED ARPT. I BELIEVE THE ABOVE INCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED; IF IN FACT THE RWY WAS CLOSED; BY SIMPLY TURNING OFF THE APCH AND RWY LIGHTS. THIS WOULD GIVE CREWS A VISUAL INDICATION OF A RWY CLOSURE AT AN UNCTLED ARPT.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.