Southwest Airlines’ Flight 4805 Takes Off from Closed Runway Despite Air Traffic Control’s Warning

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a recent incident involving a Southwest Airlines flight that took off from a closed runway despite air traffic control attempting to warn the pilots. Flight 4805 departed Portland, Maine for Baltimore at 5:42 a.m. on Tuesday, according to Flightradar24. However, a notice to flight crews had stated that Runway 29 was closed until 5:45 a.m.

In an audio recording released by LiveATC.net, the controller can be heard cautioning the Southwest pilots about a vehicle on the closed runway as the plane departed. Six minutes later, ground operations questioned if the Southwest plane was still unresponsive, to which the controller replied that they had not communicated with the aircraft. It appears that the Portland ATC tower was not officially open until 5:45 a.m., and pilots were expected to communicate on a common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) during this time. Unfortunately, it seems that the Southwest pilots did not follow this protocol either, according to the ATC recording.

Southwest Airlines confirmed that they are working with the NTSB and FAA to investigate the incident further. The airline stated that the aircraft continued its journey safely after takeoff. However, Portland International Jetport refrained from commenting due to the ongoing NTSB investigation.

The NTSB mentioned that they would release a preliminary report within 30 days regarding the incident involving Flight 4805 and its departure from an unopen runway despite air traffic control’s warning. This is not the first recent incident involving a Southwest flight; in June, another Southwest flight was just 500 feet above the ground while still nine miles away from the airport, prompting a low-altitude alert. Additionally, there have been other incidents this month and in May involving Southwest aircraft, including stability issues with their 737 Max model.

Overall, it seems like safety concerns continue to plague Southwest Airlines flights in recent months as multiple incidents have occurred involving their aircrafts within six months of each other.

It is important for all airline companies to follow proper protocols and ensure their pilots are well-trained and equipped with up-to-date information before taking off on any flight route or runway.