COMMUTER FLT CREW (X) EXPERIENCES RWY INCURSION AND CRITICAL CONFLICT WITH CHEROKEE (Z) DURING OPPOSITE DIRECTION DEPS AT COU.

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AT APPROX XA:10 LOCAL WE (ACR X) STARTED OUR TAXI TO RWY 2 AT COU. I ANNOUNCED ON CTAF THAT WE WOULD BE STARTING OUR TAXI. AN AIR CARRIER (Y) FLT STATED THE SAME. A CHEROKEE (Z) STATED HE WAS TAXIING TO RWY 20. THE COU FSS CALLED THE CHEROKEE ON CTAF TO ADVISE HIM THAT TWO COMMUTER ACFT WERE TAXIING TO RWY 2 AND THE WINDS FAVORED RWY 2. THE CHEROKEE DID NOT REPLY. WE CONTINUED TAXI TO RWY 2 DURING OUR TAXI THE CHEROKEE MADE ONE XMISSION THAT WAS GARBLED AND UNREADABLE. WE PERFORMED OUR BEFORE TKOF CHECKLIST. I ANNOUNCED ON CTAF THAT WE WERE TAXIING ONTO RWY 2. UPON ROLLING ONTO THE APCH END OF RWY 2; PRIOR TO APPLYING ANY TKOF POWER I ASKED 'CHEROKEE AT COU THIS IS ACR (X); WE NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?' WE GOT NO RESPONSE FROM HIM SO WE APPLIED THE BRAKES AND STOPPED ON THE RWY. AFTER APPROX 5 SECONDS WE OBSERVED LIGHTS AND A BEACON COMING AT US. THE CAPTAIN IMMEDIATELY MANEUVERED THE ACFT TO THE W (L). BY THIS TIME THE CHEROKEE WAS CLIMBING AND PASSED WELL OVERHEAD. WE HAD A PROB WITH OUR NOSE WHEEL STEERING AND WE UNABLE TO CLR THE RWY. HAD THE CHEROKEE NOT CLIMBED ABOVE US WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO EXIT THE RWY OR GET OUT OF THE WAY. WE WERE DISABLED ON THE RWY SO WE SHUT OFF THE ACFT. THE STEERING SYSTEMS ON THE J41 ARE REGULARLY 'OFF THE RACK'; BUT IT IS USUALLY IN A SAFE 'PARKING' ENVIRONMENT WHERE NO DANGER EXISTS. THIS ACCOUNT DESCRIBES ONE WHERE 'OFF THE RACK' COULD HAVE BEEN DEADLY. THIS SITUATION COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF THE CHEROKEE PLT (Z) HAD PROPERLY MONITORED AND XMITTED ON CTAF. A PLT AT THE END OF RWY 2 CANNOT OBSERVE THE END OF RWY 20 DUE TO A CROWN IN THE AIR FIELD. THE NOSEWHEEL STEERING PROB COULD HAVE AFFORDED NO WAY OUT HAD THE CHEROKEE'S ENGINE FAILED PRIOR TO PASSING OVERHEAD. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR NOTED THAT THE RWY CROWN (HUMP) WAS A MAJOR FACTOR IN THIS EVENT; AS WAS THE FAILURE OF THE CHEROKEE (Z) TO EFFECTIVELY UTILIZE AND MONITOR CTAF. RPTR SUGGESTS THAT BOTH INITIAL AND RECURRENT TRAINING SHOULD EMPHASIZE PROPER UNCONTROLLED ARPT PROCS.