NOTAM oversights contributed to Virgin Australia 737 runway excursion

A captain’s misinterpretation of a dispatcher’s note and notice to airmen (NOTAM) oversights resulted in a Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 taking off from section of closed runway. The serious incident occurred during the late morning of 22 November 2022 as the 737 (YH-YFH) departed Brisbane airport on runway 19L, says the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Prior to the previous sector, from Melbourne, the crew had received a dispatcher’s note about a displaced threshold on Brisbane’s runway 01R, the opposite runway to 19L. “The captain misinterpreted the dispatcher’s note to mean that there were no performance requirements for operations on [runway 19L],” says the ATSB’s final report into the incident. “The captain reviewed the NOTAMs and based on this misunderstanding, dismissed the NOTAM as not being relevant for their operation.” The ATSB says it is unclear if the first officer reviewed the dispatcher’s note and NOTAM, but it believes that the “relevance of the note and this NOTAM was probably missed.” Contributing to their mental image, when the crew arrived from Melbourne on runway 19L they did not observe any works or other markers during their landing roll and exit from the runway. Moreover, signage at the take-off point suggested that the take-off distance was more than available.<br/>