CHI01IA248 · Boeing 727-2Q6

The captain of the Boeing 727-2Q6 said they had just set takeoff rated thrust and were at approximately 80 to 100 knots, when he saw a Lancair 360 on the runway coming at them. The captain said he executed an abort and maneuvered left. The Boeing 727-2Q6's right wing passed over the top of the Lancair 360. The captain said, "We exited on [taxiway] Bravo, and taxied to the ramp." The captain said, "We were cleared to back taxi down [runway] 9. We were cleared for takeoff. We were told to expedite. There was a T-34 flight on final, 3 miles out. I turned [the airplane] and rolled." The pilot of the Lancair 360 said that he was taxiing to runway 9 following the signals of an airshow flag man (ground marshaller). "The flagman informed me that if I still wanted to depart that I could do so by taxiing quickly down the runway and get in front of the air show traffic. There was so much noise and commotion on the runway I failed to recognize the 727 who were back taxiing." The pilot said, "After spotting the 727 on the runway, I hugged the left side of the runway, giving him as much room as possible" The pilot said he was monitoring the runway frequency and didn't hear anything. The air traffic manager for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) airshow said they saw the Lancair 360 from the tower. The flag person said the Lancair approached him on runway 31, turned the 180 degrees, stopped, and shut down. The pilot stated he had a hot brake and wanted to cool it off. The flag person pointed out that the field would be closing at 1500 and he would be unable to depart until after the air show, if he waited too long. The flag person said he suggested to the pilot that if he could, continue taxiing for departure. "I then explained that I wanted him to taxi in the grass, in front of the warbirds waiting for takeoff. I coordinated by radio with the EAA flag person at the departure point that no aircraft were intending to taxi eastbound in the grass and it would be clear for the Lancair. The pilot agreed to my suggestion and restarted his engine. He turned 180 degrees to face me and I motioned him to come toward me, followed by signals to bear left onto the grass taxiway. The Lancair started his left turn, clearing my body, but before reaching the grass, straightened out and taxied the last 30 feet of rwy (runway) 31 and turned westbound on the edge of rwy 9. A B-727 that had back-taxied earlier, was lined up for an immediate takeoff on runway 9, his lights on. I broadcast[ed] an 'alert, alert, alert, that there was an aircraft on runway 9' on the Flightline Ops (Operations) network, knowing that the tower cab monitored our frequency. The 727 started his takeoff roll, but the Lancair continued taxiing along the edge of the runway. The 727 then went into reverse thrust and under heavy braking, moved to his left on the runway so as to clear the Lancair. His wingtip passed over the Lancair, but no contact was made." No damage was sustained by either airplane.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset