- Date
- February 11, 1993, 20:21 local (Feb 12, 1993, 01:21 UTC)
- Place
- Newark, NJ
- Injuries
- 67 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N79771Boeing 727-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 37243
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's disorientation while taxiing, resulting in a runway incursion. Factors contributing to the incident were: the failure of the flight crew to communicate with the ATC ground controller to verify their position; the inadequate crew coordination; and the dark night light conditions.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The crew of N79771 was cleared to taxi to runway 4L on the outer taxiway. While taxiing, the captain became disoriented and thought he was on the inner taxiway. He told the first officer about his concerns. The first officer's attention had been devoted to cockpit duties, but he also thought they were taxiing on the inner. The airplane was actually on the outer. The captain decided to turn left at taxiway 'g' to return to the outer. When the turn was made at 'g,' the airplane was on a short taxiway leading to runway 4L. A B-737 was on the takeoff roll on runway 4L, and the pilot of that airplane said he observed N79771 on the runway. Several tower controllers stated that N79771 was on runway 4L amd made a turn off the runway. The pilot of N79771 said he saw the runway edge lights, and that he was able to turn the airplane before entering the active runway. N79771 was not equipped with a nose wheel taxi light. The pilot said this made it difficult for him to determine his position. The crew of N79771 made no radio calls to ground control about their confusion.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N79771
- Reported as
- Boeing 727-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- P&W JT8D, 15,500 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Continental Airlines, Inc.
- Registered owner
- United States Trust Co
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- EWR · NJ
- Destination
- BUF · Buffalo, NY
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- EWR · Newark International, runway 4, 8,200 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,000 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 12,000 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 75 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 70° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 39 °F