æt ðə tˈaɪm, ðɪ ˈɛɹpoːɹt hæd nˈoʊ ɹˈʌnweɪ lˈaɪts, sˌoʊ ðɪ ˈɛɹlaɪn mændˈeɪɾᵻd ðæt dᵻpˈɑːɹtʃɚɹ əkˈɜːɹ æt lˈiːst θˈɜːɾi mˈɪnɪts bᵻfˌoːɹ ˈiːvnɪŋ sˈɪvəl twˈaɪlaɪt, ɐlˈaʊɪŋ ɪnˈʌf tˈaɪm fɚðɪ ˈɛɹkɹæft tə ɹᵻtˈɜːn tə ðɪ ˈɛɹpoːɹt kˈeɪs əvən ɪmˈɜːdʒənsi.
At the time, the airport had no runway lights, so the airline mandated that departure occur at least 30 minutes before evening civil twilight, allowing enough time for the aircraft to return to the airport case of an emergency.