“It appears that quick action and situational awareness by the FedEx crew prevented a mass-casualty disaster.”
Austin tower cleared a Southwest 737 to take off with a FedEx 767 three miles out on a fog approach to the same runway. Nearly a minute passed before the controller even asked if Southwest was rolling. The FedEx crew, who could not see the runway, ended up giving the orders. A retired controller calls it a total system failure, and the only safeguard that worked was luck in the cockpit.