Description

On 12 January 2006, a Boeing 747-200F being operated by Air China on a cargo flight from Beijing to Frankfurt made a night landing on runway 07R at destination and then taxiied in normal ground visibility across runway 07L in front of an Aer Lingus Airbus A320-200 which was landing after operating a scheduled passenger flight from Dublin. The landing aircraft increased braking upon sighting the 747, which had completed its crossing of the runway before the A320 reached its crossing point.

Investigation

The incident was investigated by the Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung (Germany) (BFU) Germany. Recordings of radar and communications were available to assist the investigation but the CVR and FDR recordings were not available from either aircraft. It was established that the 747 had been cleared to taxi via taxiway G to hold short of runway 07L. Because of an incorrect reference to taxiway H in the otherwise correct first read back, the controller had repeated the clearance to hold short of runway 07L on taxiway G but when this had been read back as a clearance to cross runway 07L, the error had not been detected and the controller involved had gone on to issue a landing clearance to the A320.