Pilot praised for role in averting high-speed crash at Dublin Airport
A report into the potentially catastrophic incident recognised the quick action of the pilot, who carried out a high-speed rejected take-off when she spotted the wayward aircraft at the far end of the runway.
For the crew of the Ryanair 737-800, it should have been a routine take off from runway 16 on May 21, 2011, for a flight to Vilnius, Lithuania. However, as the aircraft accelerated, the two pilots spotted the Monarch airbus. The conversation, recorded on the cockpit black box, heard them say “Where’s that Mon[arch]/ Where’s that guy going?” 17 seconds into their take-off routine. The next comment was “he’s taxiing out in front of us,” followed two seconds later by an order to stop.
The report, by the Department of Transport Air Accident Investigation Unit, found the incorrect route taken by the airbus was not noticed by air traffic control (ATC) or the airbus crew. The 737 pilot was praised for her quick thinking.
“When she realised that the taxiing aircraft had entered the runway, the commander immediately abandoned the take-off, thus breaking an accumulating and potentially threatening chain of events,” the report said.
The incident, from ATC clearance to the aircraft stopping, lasted around 60 seconds.
The report said it should be noted that no guidance can be provided to pilots taking-off regarding such an occurrence, but a decision must be made quickly, “and an incorrect decision can be catastrophic”.
In this case, the incursion was detected by the flight crew early enough, “there was good crew co-ordination, quick reaction, and the outcome was a successful rejected take-off. And, as the commander commented, training paid off.”
ATC had cleared the airbus to taxi but not to enter the runway. However the airbus flight crew lost situational awareness after an incorrect assumption regarding the position of another aircraft and inadvertently entered an active runway.
This was not the first runway incursion at the airport — there were incidents in 2007, 2008, and 2010. Additional safety measures have since been introduced.
