Southwest Flight Departs from Unopened Runway with Vehicle Present

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating an incident where a Southwest Airlines flight 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, as per 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.

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. It seems that the Southwest pilots did not follow this protocol either, according to the ATC recording.

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

The NTSB mentioned that a preliminary report would be made available within 30 days regarding the incident. This is not the first recent incident involving a Southwest flight. In June, a 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 a stability issue with a 737 Max model.