Tower controller described a go-around event when misjudging the time required for an aircraft to ta...

Narrative:

I was working local control and had a citation waiting to depart xxl; there was a regional jet landing and aircraft Y was about 5 miles in trail. After the first jet landed; I put the citation in position and told him to be ready to go because it was IFR conditions and I needed 2 miles increasing to 3. As the first jet cleared the runway; I cleared the citation for take off but since he was holding short of the critical area; he was just then pulling onto the runway. Aircraft Y was on about a 2 mile final at that point and I realized it wasn't going to work and I cancelled the citations take off clearance and instructed him to exit the runway to the right. He must not have heard me because I got no response and he continued to take off. I sent aircraft Y around on about a little over a mile final and turned him 90 degrees to the left. I turned the citation 20 degrees to the right although by that time aircraft Y was diverging. From now on; working in those conditions I need to slow things down and not try to hit the small gaps. I also need to keep my awareness up; I got focused on the first arrival clearing the runway instead of watching the citation get into position.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Tower Controller described a go-around event when misjudging the time required for an aircraft to take off from the ILS critical hold line position; the Reporter acknowledges a need for increased vigilance during these types of weather conditions.

Narrative: I was working Local Control and had a Citation waiting to depart XXL; there was a regional jet landing and Aircraft Y was about 5 miles in trail. After the first jet landed; I put the Citation in position and told him to be ready to go because it was IFR conditions and I needed 2 miles increasing to 3. As the first jet cleared the runway; I cleared the Citation for take off but since he was holding short of the critical area; he was just then pulling onto the runway. Aircraft Y was on about a 2 mile final at that point and I realized it wasn't going to work and I cancelled the Citations take off clearance and instructed him to exit the runway to the right. He must not have heard me because I got no response and he continued to take off. I sent Aircraft Y around on about a little over a mile final and turned him 90 degrees to the left. I turned the Citation 20 degrees to the right although by that time Aircraft Y was diverging. From now on; working in those conditions I need to slow things down and not try to hit the small gaps. I also need to keep my awareness up; I got focused on the first arrival clearing the runway instead of watching the Citation get into position.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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	990801
Time
Date	201201
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Tower
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Cessna Citation Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Local
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Developmental
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Tower controller described a go-around event when misjudging the time required for an aircraft to take off from the ILS critical hold line position; the reporter acknowledges a need for increased vigilance during these types of weather conditions.