Looks like it is pretty certain the coast guard aircraft didn’t follow instructions to hold short of the runway. Some who have listened to ATC recordings indicate they were cleared to a runway intersection, and they failed to read it back. I wonder what, if any, Autonomous Runway Incursion Warning System (ARIWS) system they had and if its alerts were missed by controllers.
Edit: An ATC transcript is out showing the Coast Guard aircraft was cleared to taxi to holding point C5 and was told they were #1 for departure, but was not cleared to enter the runway (although I find the phraseology poor, with no direct instruction to hold short of the runway, but perhaps that is standard in Japan). They did read back the instructions correctly. However, testimony from the surviving pilot indicated he thought he had takeoff clearance. A likely case of expectation bias, where the pilots heard what they expected to be told rather than what they were actually told. https://avherald.com/h?article=5132b9fe&opt=0
Looks like it is pretty certain the coast guard aircraft didn’t follow instructions to hold short of the runway. Some who have listened to ATC recordings indicate they were cleared to a runway intersection, and they failed to read it back. I wonder what, if any, Autonomous Runway Incursion Warning System (ARIWS) system they had and if its alerts were missed by controllers.
Edit: An ATC transcript is out showing the Coast Guard aircraft was cleared to taxi to holding point C5 and was told they were #1 for departure, but was not cleared to enter the runway (although I find the phraseology poor, with no direct instruction to hold short of the runway, but perhaps that is standard in Japan). They did read back the instructions correctly. However, testimony from the surviving pilot indicated he thought he had takeoff clearance. A likely case of expectation bias, where the pilots heard what they expected to be told rather than what they were actually told. https://avherald.com/h?article=5132b9fe&opt=0