Beechjet 400
Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types
Air Traffic Control Separated Traffic; Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff
Human Factors; Procedure; Airport
We were cleared for takeoff on [Runway] 26R by MIA Tower. The SIC; who was the pilot flying; began the takeoff roll. I set the takeoff power and as I was about to make the 'airspeed alive' call; the Tower asked; 'Are you able to abort?' We did not know the reason at this point. The pilot flying initiated the abort from of a speed of less than 60 KTS and I advised the Controller that we were aborting. The Controller acknowledged the abort and advised us that a heavy aircraft had gone around on Runway 30 (the extended centerlines for [Runway] 30 and [Runway] 26R cross at the departure ends); he then instructed us to taxi clear onto Taxiway Kilo and back to Runway 26R. At this point I could see the heavy aircraft climbing across our runway. We taxied back to [Runway] 26R and once we were back at the hold short line I explained to the passengers what had happened. They said they were concerned it had been a problem with our airplane but seemed satisfied by my explanation. We then took off and resumed the flight normally. I believe the SIC did the right thing by initiating the abort on her own from such a low airspeed. I would have preferred the Controller to issue the abort instruction directly so as to remove any ambiguity; it's easy to see how a crew could have found themselves debating whether to abort; leading to either a possible airborne traffic conflict or an abort from a higher speed but I understand why he would be hesitant to issue the instruction. I'm not sure what the response would have been had the controller asked the question further into the takeoff roll. There were two contributing factors: First: I believe the Tower was using separate frequencies for Runway 30 and runways 26L/R as I never heard any communication regarding the go-around. I don't know that I necessarily would have recognized that an aircraft going around on [Runway] 30 would pose a conflict for us but hearing what was happening on a nearly intersecting runway may have stopped us from starting the takeoff roll depending on when the go-around was initiated. Second: An aircraft that was holding in position on [Runway] 26L read back our takeoff clearance; stepping on our readback. The Controller corrected that aircraft but the time it took to prevent that flight from departing could have potentially given the controller time to cancel our takeoff clearance before we started rolling; depending again on when the go-around was initiated. My initial thought was that the controller's abort request was related to the aircraft on [Runway] 26L as I didn't know about the go-around on [Runway] 30 yet.
BE400 Captain reports being asked by the Tower during takeoff; 'Are you able to abort?' With the speed being low; the flying SIC begins the reject and stops easily. The Tower explains that a heavy jet has gone around on an intersecting runway.