Narrative:

Aircraft X; a CRJ2; landed runway xxl and was instructed to 'turn left and contact ground point 8'. He exited; but did not entirely clear the runway. He informed ground control that he had a steering issue and was having problems exiting. We had no arrivals for about 25 miles and none were lined up on final yet and no departures ready to depart. Aircraft X informed me that he was trying to exit and I informed him to switch over to ground control and that we were aware of his situation. I then informed my supervisor of his problem. She called airport operations and they closed the runway. She took my 'open runway' strip and replaced it with a 'closed runway' strip. Aircraft Y; who was having some maintenance problems prior to this now reported that he was ready to depart. I informed him of the crj still with his tail on the runway and informed him that he would have to taxi and depart xxr and shipped him to ground for taxi instructions. Just as I did this; aircraft X taxied clear of the runway and (I assume) informed ground control of this. I visually confirmed this and verified it with asde; which was operating in normal mode. I had ground control give me the aircraft Y strip and had him shipped to me so I could depart him as originally intended. My supervisor then called airport operations and told them that the runway was now clear. This portion is secondhand information; as I was not on the phone. Apparently; she told airport operations this and they did not indicate to her that the runway was to remain closed until they reopened it. I do not know if this was on a recorded line. My supervisor came and took the 'closed runway' strip and returned my 'open runway' strip. I then explained to aircraft Y that the crj was off of the runway and issued him a takeoff clearance. I also put the next departure into position. Operations then calls and requests access to runway xxl. I assumed that he wanted to take it for the usual morning runway checks and told him to hold short and that I was going to depart one more. He then informed me that the runway was still closed. I then granted him access to runway xxl from D taxiway. I informed my supervisor what had just transpired. Operations exited at P3 (I believe) and reopened the runway. I then departed the next departure. At no point was anyone on the closed runway when aircraft Y departed and amass did not alarm. I know that my supervisor wishes that she would have been clearer with airport operations regarding the status of runway xxl when she informed them that aircraft X was off the runway. She and I thought the exact same thing; the problem was now removed; and we could now use that runway as normal. I don't know if I could have done anything different.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Disabled aircraft causes airport authority to close a runway. When the aircraft clears the runway; unclear coordination between ATC and the Airport Authority results in confusion. An aircraft departs on the technically closed runway.

Narrative: Aircraft X; a CRJ2; landed Runway XXL and was instructed to 'turn left and contact ground point 8'. He exited; but did not entirely clear the runway. He informed Ground Control that he had a steering issue and was having problems exiting. We had no arrivals for about 25 miles and none were lined up on final yet and no departures ready to depart. Aircraft X informed me that he was trying to exit and I informed him to switch over to Ground Control and that we were aware of his situation. I then informed my Supervisor of his problem. She called Airport Operations and they closed the runway. She took my 'Open Runway' strip and replaced it with a 'closed runway' strip. Aircraft Y; who was having some maintenance problems prior to this now reported that he was ready to depart. I informed him of the CRJ still with his tail on the runway and informed him that he would have to taxi and depart XXR and shipped him to Ground for taxi instructions. Just as I did this; Aircraft X taxied clear of the runway and (I assume) informed Ground Control of this. I visually confirmed this and verified it with ASDE; which was operating in normal mode. I had Ground Control give me the Aircraft Y strip and had him shipped to me so I could depart him as originally intended. My Supervisor then called Airport Operations and told them that the runway was now clear. This portion is secondhand information; as I was not on the phone. Apparently; she told Airport Operations this and they did not indicate to her that the runway was to remain closed until they reopened it. I do not know if this was on a recorded line. My supervisor came and took the 'Closed Runway' strip and returned my 'Open Runway' strip. I then explained to Aircraft Y that the CRJ was off of the runway and issued him a takeoff clearance. I also put the next departure into position. OPS then calls and requests access to Runway XXL. I assumed that he wanted to take it for the usual morning runway checks and told him to hold short and that I was going to depart one more. He then informed me that the runway was still closed. I then granted him access to Runway XXL from D Taxiway. I informed my Supervisor what had just transpired. OPS exited at P3 (I believe) and reopened the runway. I then departed the next departure. At no point was anyone on the closed runway when Aircraft Y departed and AMASS did not alarm. I know that my Supervisor wishes that she would have been clearer with Airport Operations regarding the status of Runway XXL when she informed them that Aircraft X was off the runway. She and I thought the exact same thing; the problem was now removed; and we could now use that runway as normal. I don't know if I could have done anything different.

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.