A POTENTIAL GND CONFLICT OCCURS DURING A NIGHT OP BTWN A TAXIING BE58 ON TXWY A AND AN E145 JUST CLRING RWY 19 AT TXWY D AT ALB; NY.

Date: 2003-10 · Aircraft: Baron 58/58TC · Phase: taxi

Anomalies: atc-issue-all-types|conflict-ground-conflict|critical|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|ground-incursion-taxiway

Synopsis

A POTENTIAL GND CONFLICT OCCURS DURING A NIGHT OP BTWN A TAXIING BE58 ON TXWY A AND AN E145 JUST CLRING RWY 19 AT TXWY D AT ALB; NY.

Narrative

NEEDED TO TAKE EVASIVE ACTION DURING TAXIING AT ALB ARPT; LOCATED IN NEW YORK STATE. THE ACFT THAT I NEEDED TO AVOID WAS AN EMBRAER 145 REGIONAL JET. WX CONDITION WAS VFR (VISIBILITY 10 SM) AND IT WAS NIGHT. I WAS INSTRUCTED BY GND CTL TO TAXI OUT OF THE GA RAMP TO RWY 19 VIA TXWY A (WHICH PARALLELS RWY 19); TO HOLD SHORT OF TXWY D ON TXWY A; AND I CLRLY READ BACK THE HOLD SHORT CLRNC. ONCE ON TXWY A; SETTLED INTO A LOWER THAN NORMAL TAXI SPD. VISUALLY CHKED THE TXWY AHEAD OF ME AND THE AIRLINE TERMINAL TO MY L. DID NOT SEE ANY ACFT. I THEN DIVERTED MY ATTN INSIDE THE COCKPIT TO COMPLETE THE BEFORE TKOF CHKLIST. AFTER A FEW ITEMS; GND CTL INSTRUCTED ME TO CROSS TXWY D AND CONTINUE TO RWY 19. I THEN ADJUSTED PWR TO SETTLE INTO A HIGHER TAXI SPEED AND THEN DIVERTED MY ATTN TO INSIDE THE COCKPIT TO COMPLETE THE REMAINING CHKLIST ITEMS. (I DECIDED TO TAXI FASTER AND COMPLETE THE BEFORE TKOF ITEMS PRIOR TO REACHING THE RWY TO BE READY FOR TKOF UPON REACHING RWY 19; TO MINIMIZE DELAYS INTO BUF. WINDS ALOFT ABOUT WESTERLY AT 40 KTS; AND WAS RUNNING SLIGHTLY BEHIND SCHEDULE.) WHILE COMPLETING THE CHKLIST; I HEARD THE ACR CALLING GND STATING THAT THEY WERE CLRING RWY 19 ONTO TXWY D; WHICH WAS IDEAL FOR HIM SINCE TXWY D LEADS INTO THE AIRLINE TERMINAL RAMP. AS I LOOKED UP IN SURPRISE AND SHOCK (AT THAT MOMENT I REALIZED I DIDN'T CHK THE RWY FOR TFC); THE ERJ WAS TURNING OFF WITH ALL EXTERIOR LIGHTS STILL ON; WHICH CAUSED TEMPORARY BLINDNESS. AT THAT MOMENT; MY ONLY THOUGHT WAS TO KEEP THE ACFT TAXIING STRAIGHT SO AS TO AVOID HITTING ANY TAXI LIGHTS. AFTER I REGAINED MY NIGHT VISION; I FOUND MYSELF IN A SIT WHERE I WAS ALREADY TAXIING FAST AND VERY CLOSE TO THE ERJ. I THEN REALIZED THAT IF I STOPPED THE ACFT IMMEDIATELY; I WOULD MOST LIKELY STOP IN FRONT OF HIM WITH 2 POSSIBLE OUTCOMES: 1) HE WOULD NOT SEE ME (ERJ COCKPIT SITS HIGHER THAN A BARON AND THE CREW WAS POSSIBLY COMPLETING THEIR AFTER LNDG CHKLIST) AND TAXI INTO ME; OR 2) BE BLINDED AGAIN BY THE EXTERIOR LIGHTS AND EITHER TURN L; GOING OFF THE TXWY OR TURN R; INTO THE JET. (THE EXTERIOR LIGHTS ON AN ERJ ARE AT OR ABOVE EYE LEVEL IN RELATION TO THE COCKPIT OF A BARON.) IMMEDIATELY; GND CTL INSTRUCTED THE ERJ TO HOLD FOR ME. AT THAT POINT; THE ERJ DID NOT INCUR ONTO TXWY A AND WAS EITHER STOPPED OR CRAWLING (WITH THE EXTERIOR LIGHTS STILL TURNED ON). I THEN DECIDED TO PWR UP AND CLR THE INTXN; HOPING THAT THE GND CTLR'S INSTRUCTION TO THE ERJ BOUGHT ME EXTRA TIME. ONCE CLR OF THE INTXN; MY MIND WAS STILL ON THE EVENTS OF THE LAST FEW SECONDS. WAS THEN TOLD TO SLOW DOWN BY GND CTL. THE CAPT OF THE ERJ REQUESTED THE PHONE NUMBER TO ARPT OPS AFTER BEING SHOCKED SEEING A SPDING AIRPLANE GOING L TO R.

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