Air carrier continued takeoff after ATC issued a 'cancel takeoff clearance'; the reporter noting the...

Narrative:

[We were] cleared immediate takeoff by tower with another heavy carrier on 3-mile final. Rolling take off initiated; and during initial roll; approximately 40 KTS; the other carrier declared that he was going around. Tower communicated with them while we were accelerating. Several calls were made by the other carrier's go-around due to wind shear; and the tower during pilot not flying's call out at 80 KTS. By the time the pilot flying and pilot not flying understood that tower was canceling our takeoff clearance; we were pushing 90 KTS plus. Pilot flying elected to continue the take off and told pilot not flying to tell tower 'unable.' normal take off was completed. Tower gave a vector north for our aircraft and when switching us to departure; apologized for the confusion. We switched; and later while up on center; were informed to call TRACON upon arrival. Tower seemed confused as to what action to take after the other carrier initiated go-around. Takeoff cancellation/or full understanding of cancellation to pilot flying/pilot not flying just came too late to avoid a high speed abort. The tower should have canceled our take off clearance immediately if the intention was to keep us on the ground during the other carrier go-around. Too much time had elapsed between tower confirming the reason for the go-around and issuing a take off cancellation. ATC may want to ensure that enough time and space exists to account for an aircraft initiating a go-around inside 3 miles or on short final and clearing or subsequently canceling a takeoff clearance.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Carrier continued takeoff after ATC issued a 'Cancel Takeoff Clearance'; the reporter noting their speed prohibited any abort action; adding ATC's phraseology was less than clear; suggesting the phrase ABORT be used in this type of circumstance.

Narrative: [We were] cleared immediate takeoff by Tower with another heavy carrier on 3-mile final. Rolling take off initiated; and during initial roll; approximately 40 KTS; the other carrier declared that he was going around. Tower communicated with them while we were accelerating. Several calls were made by the other carrier's go-around due to wind shear; and the Tower during pilot not flying's call out at 80 KTS. By the time the pilot flying and pilot not flying understood that Tower was canceling our takeoff clearance; we were pushing 90 KTS plus. Pilot flying elected to continue the take off and told pilot not flying to tell Tower 'unable.' Normal take off was completed. Tower gave a vector north for our aircraft and when switching us to Departure; apologized for the confusion. We switched; and later while up on Center; were informed to call TRACON upon arrival. Tower seemed confused as to what action to take after the other carrier initiated go-around. Takeoff cancellation/or full understanding of cancellation to pilot flying/pilot not flying just came too late to avoid a high speed abort. The Tower should have canceled our take off clearance immediately if the intention was to keep us on the ground during the other carrier go-around. Too much time had elapsed between Tower confirming the reason for the go-around and issuing a take off cancellation. ATC may want to ensure that enough time and space exists to account for an aircraft initiating a go-around inside 3 miles or on short final and clearing or subsequently canceling a takeoff clearance.

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.

Attributes
ACN	951729
Time
Date	201106
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	DC-10 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Landing
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 227 Flight Crew Type 6500
Person 2
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 263
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Clearance

Air carrier continued takeoff after ATC issued a 'cancel takeoff clearance'; the reporter noting their speed prohibited any abort action; adding ATC's phraseology was less than clear; suggesting the phrase abort be used in this type of circumstance.