Description

On 29 May 2009, a Boeing 757-200 being operated by UK Airline Thomson Airways on a passenger charter flight from Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt to Dublin and having just landed on runway 10 at destination at night in poor visibility overtook a small ride-on grass mower moving along the right hand side of the runway in approximate line with the aircraft’s right hand wing tip. The driver of the mower was unaware of the arriving aircraft until he heard it on the runway behind him. Prior to the landing, ATC had been informed that all grass-cutting equipment previously working on and around the runway had cleared it.

Investigation

An Investigation into this event was carried out by the Irish AAIU.

It was established that with the Boeing 757 already cleared to land and on approximately 2 mile finals one minute prior to touchdown, the ASMGCS recording showed the targets representing the aircraft and the ride-on mower on the landing runway both becoming highlighted in red, indicating the development of a potential conflict situation. Having previously asked the grass cutting team to clear the runway and cease operations altogether because of the deteriorating visibility, the AMC asked the supervisor about the disposition of the three vehicles involved in grass cutting and was told that they were clear. There were no further communications prior to the aircraft landing and the ASMGCS recording shows that soon after touchdown, the aircraft passed the ride-on mower whilst at an estimated ground speed of 96 kts. The mower was moving in the same direction as the aircraft approximately 18.5 m to the right of the runway centreline. The wingspan of a Boeing 757-200 is 38.05 m.