Page 71 - World Airnews September 2020 Edition

SAFETY

SAFETY: ANALYSIS

the threshold once cleared for take-off. There may well be equivalent) for the airport in our preflight preparation. The

traffic behind. At many busy airports, there is often a note on relevant AIP may contain more information for domestic

minimum runway occupancy time which cautions pilots to have operations, in the case of Teeside Airport, the UK AIP contained

all preparations complete and be ready to commence the take- the following statement: ‘At both ends of Runway 05/23, its
off immediately when instructed by ATC. Has this led to a habit width is twice that of the associated edge lights due to extra

of rushing the commencement of the take-off? Undue haste at pavement at the northwest side. Pilots should ensure that

this point is dangerous and pilots should develop a short men- they are correctly lined up, especially if the take-off is at night,

tal checklist of the simple items mentioned in the paragraphs when the runway is contaminated or in low visibility. The
above to verify that they are in fact on the assigned runway yellow taxiway centre-line marking supplemented with green

and intersection as well as on the centreline of that runway, reflective studs must be followed until alignment with the

before pushing the thrust levers up to take-off power. runway centre-line lights is achieved’.
Not everyone has access to the AIP for a foreign country how-
INFORMATION ever. Other sources of information such as Google Earth or the

As charter or business aircraft pilots regularly operating to many aviation applications (Apps) can be used to augment the

unfamiliar airports, we will often go beyond a simple review coded information in the Jepp Charts. Forewarned is forearmed.

of the Jeppesen 10-9 Airport Chart (or other commercial
SAFETY: CONCLUSION
It is all too easy for us to judge the actions of the crew from the

comfort of our armchairs and say to ourselves “I would never do
something so stupid”. We need to remember that we were not there.

We were not affected by the same human factors issues, operational,

commercial or time pressures as they were. These pilots were not

looking for an opportunity to try out their rejected take-off skills. Nor
was this a one-off event, similar accidents have been recorded:

Before sunrise on 27 August 2006, a Bombardier CRJ200 Regional
Airliner lines up on the wrong runway in Lexington Kentucky, USA.

The runway was unlit at the time and the crew actually remark on

this as they accelerate during the take-off. The aircraft goes off the
end of the short runway and catches fire with 49 fatalities.

On the night of 09 May 2011, a Challenger 850 business jet
lines up on the runway edge lights of runway 30R in Dubai and

commences its take-off roll. The right edge included a contin-

uous extended paved surface with multiple taxiways entering

the runway. The take-off was rejected at 90 knots when the

aircraft struck the PAPI light installation with its right wing.

On the night of 24 November2014, a Gulfstream III lines up on the

right edge of runway 03 at Biggin Hill, Kent, UK. The take-off is reject-
ed when the right main gear enters the grassed area at the side of the
runway. The weather conditions include a shallow mist which an ATC

described as ‘waist deep’. Biggin Hill is an ex RAF base and has a paved
dispersal area adjacent the right threshold of runway 03.
On the night of 09 January 2016, a Citation CJ2 backtracks

runway 27 at Norwich Airport, UK. Wouldn’t you know it, the
airport was formerly known as RAF Horsham St. Faith and the
runway has a dispersal area alongside the runway. The aircraft

turns around in the dispersal area adjacent the left threshold

of runway 27 but lines up on the left runway edge lights, rather

than the centreline lights. The take-off is rejected when the left
main gear runs out of dispersal area and enters the grass on the

left side of the runway. Fortunately, there are no injuries.
What are the common denominators or traps in this type of scenario?
• Any paved area, dispersal area or holding areas on either side of

the take-off runway threshold provide the space needed to line

up incorrectly – look for these during your preflight preparation;

• This type of incident is more likely to occur in darkness;
• This type of incident is more likely to occur in conditions of • Rushing - slow down, as any Land Rover driver will tell you:

low visibility day or night; ‘as slow as possible, as fast as necessary’.
• Lack of knowledge/incorrect mental model – know what Nowadays, the manufacturer checklist will probably contain

you should see – piano keys, runway numbers, dashed a “Correct Runway…… Identified” item in the Before Take-off

white centre-line markings, solid runway edge markings, Checklist. Make sure that you are also in the middle of that
edge lights, centreline lights etc. correct runway. Take care up there. Q
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