Description

On 8 September 2011, an Avro RJ85 being operated by Brussels Airlines on a scheduled passenger flight from Gothenburg to Brussels with 85 occupants was taking off from runway 21 at Gothenburg in normal day visibility when a vehicle almost entered the same runway near to the airborne point. The vehicle stopped immediately upon seeing the aircraft and the aircraft crew reported having been unaware of it.

Investigation

An Investigation was carried out by the Swedish AIA. It was found that two positions were being manned in the VCR at the time, a TWR controller position with responsibility for the runway and aircraft departing from and arriving on it and a GND controller position with responsibility for vehicle movements, aircraft departure clearances and taxiing aircraft.

It was found that three vehicles had been waiting to enter the runway, two near the downwind end of the runway and the other at an intermediate position. Once the RJ85 aircraft had been given take off clearance and had begun to roll, it was found that the runway controller had given the GND controller permission to clear all three vehicles onto the runway “in one and the same sentence” without specifying the vehicles individually.

As he approached the runway, the vehicle driver reported having “perceived a light from the left at the same time as he heard a rumbling noise”. He had then spotted the aircraft which was taking off and stopped immediately at a distance subsequently determined to have been 50 metres from the centreline of the 45 metre wide runway.