On February 4th, 2023, an air traffic controller and two well rested pilots were involved in a runway incursion at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Austin, Texas. The local controller had cleared the departing airplane for takeoff on runway 18L and instructed the landing airplane to continue its approach to the same runway. The controller was unable to see the departing airplane on the taxiway and runway because of dense fog, and the AUS air traffic control tower (ATCT) did not have surface detection equipment to aid the controller in monitoring ground traffic.
Contributing to the incident was the departing aircraft flight crewmembers’ failure to account for the traffic that was on short final approach and to notify the controller that they would need additional time on the runway before the takeoff roll.