Tunnel vision is a phrase pilots and accident investigators have used for many years to describe a pilot s mental state, which apparently focuses on a single goal or outcome with such intensity, that other important information is blocked out of the mental process. Such blocked-out information can sometimes be crucial to a safe operation, as this accident proves once again. While we will have to wait for the findings and conclusions of the official accident report, to fully appreciate all factors that contributed to such a fatal error, it is already apparent why tunnel vision might have occurred.
All airliners have safety crosswind limits for both takeoff and landings.
The eye of Typhoon Xangsane was moving toward the Taipei airport and producing winds up to 90 mph. The reported winds and visibility at the airport were still below the plane s safety limits, when it pushed back from the gate. But, as time elapsed, the winds were bound to increase as the eye of the storm moved closer. The captain knew the longer it took them to taxi out and takeoff, the more likely it was that those winds might reach or exceed the airplane s safety limits. If that happened before he commenced the takeoff roll, he would be forced to return to the gate.