A passenger plane with 170 people on board came within 700 metres of a vehicle on the runway at Cork Airport, an Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) report has found.
The Boeing 737 had been cleared for take off by air traffic control staff despite the presence of a police operations vehicle on the runway.
The incident on July 22nd, 2009, prompted the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to implement a number of safety recommendations, including the introduction of dual frequencies for ground vehicles and aircraft at the airport.
The AAIU report found the passenger plane had been cleared for take off on runway 17 by the air traffic controller at 9.20am that morning. Some 16 seconds later, the operations vehicle vacated the runway as the driver saw the aircraft increase power for take off.
The report found that the airport official with responsibility for ground vehicles (Surface Movements Controller) in the airport tower had taken a break from his duties after receiving a distressing personal call earlier that morning.
The air traffic controller, who started duty at 8.50am, took over operations, with two commercial aircraft present and two operations vehicles on the airfield.
The AAIU report found that traffic levels were relatively light as the ground control assistant left the tower to take a 15 minute break, but the workload increased in the controllers absence, contributing ‘to a level of distraction’ for the air traffic controller who took over tower duties.
The use of two separate frequencies, one for air traffic and one for ground traffic, meant the driver of the police vehicle on the ground did not hear take off clearance issued to the Boeing 737.
Two ground vehicles had entered the runway in the minutes preceding the incident, the report found, but the runway was deemed clear after one vehicle was recalled, leaving the other in the path of the aircraft about to take off.
The controller in the tower did not see the police vehicle despite scanning the runway before clearing the Boeing 737 for take off. The AAIU report found that a combination of vehicle colour and profile, wet conditions on the runway, rain on the tower windows and framing around the glass tower may have obstructed the view.
The IAA identified a number of safety recommendations, all of which have been implemented.
“Safety is the primary focus of the IAA and we continually work to maintain and improve safety standards,” director of operations at the IAA Donie Mooney said.