Narrative:

After pushback and engine starts at rno; we received taxi clearance: 'taxi to runway 16R via taxiway H and taxiway B.' as I taxied forward out of the alley; I noticed a small general aviation aircraft taxiing at a rapid rate on taxiway B. The aircraft was moving very fast in the opposite direction to the way I was cleared. At the time; the first officer was heads down with final weight calculations and reviewing windshear precautions for takeoff. A standards captain was in the first observer's seat conducting a line check on me. As I stopped the aircraft short of taxiway B; I incredulously saw the small aircraft rotate and takeoff just prior to the h-b intersection. Had we been on the taxiway as cleared; there would have been a collision. I reported the incident immediately to the ground controller. I followed up with a phone call to the tower supervisor after arrival. His comments were that because of the windy conditions at rno that day; the tower controller could not see that part of taxiway B since my aircraft on taxiway H was blocking that view. The ATC controller filed a deviation for the small aircraft pilot; and was very apologetic to me.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier pilot reported seeing a single engine aircraft takeoff on a taxiway at RNO.

Narrative: After pushback and engine starts at RNO; we received taxi clearance: 'Taxi to Runway 16R via Taxiway H and Taxiway B.' As I taxied forward out of the alley; I noticed a small general aviation aircraft taxiing at a rapid rate on Taxiway B. The aircraft was moving very fast in the opposite direction to the way I was cleared. At the time; the First Officer was heads down with final weight calculations and reviewing windshear precautions for takeoff. A Standards Captain was in the First Observer's seat conducting a line check on me. As I stopped the aircraft short of Taxiway B; I incredulously saw the small aircraft rotate and takeoff just prior to the H-B Intersection. Had we been on the taxiway as cleared; there would have been a collision. I reported the incident immediately to the Ground Controller. I followed up with a phone call to the Tower Supervisor after arrival. His comments were that because of the windy conditions at RNO that day; the Tower Controller could not see that part of Taxiway B since my aircraft on Taxiway H was blocking that view. The ATC Controller filed a deviation for the small aircraft pilot; and was very apologetic to me.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.