C25A / Vehicle, Reykjavik Iceland, 2018

C25A / Vehicle, Reykjavik Iceland, 2018

Summary

On 11 January 2018, a privately-operated Cessna 525A Citation with a two-pilot English-speaking crew made a night takeoff from Reykjavik without clearance passing within  less than a metre of a vehicle sanding the out-of-service and slippery intersecting runway as it rotated. The Investigation noted that the takeoff without clearance had been intentional and due to the aircraft slipping during the turn after backtracking. It also noted that the vehicle was operating as cleared by the TWR controller on a different frequency and that information about it given to an inbound aircraft on the TWR frequency had been in Icelandic.

Description

On 11 January 2018, a Cessna 525A Citation (N525FF) being operated privately with a two-pilot crew and one passenger took off from runway 19 at Reykjavik for an unrecorded international destination in normal night visibility without the TWR controller noticing. As it reached the intersection of runways 19 and 13 and was about to get airborne, a vehicle carrying out sanding on out of service runway 13 appeared from the left as rotation was imminent. The Cessna passed over the top of the vehicle with an estimated vertical clearance of “less than 1 metre”.

The aircraft clearing the vehicle by what was suspected to have been “less than 1 metre”. [Reproduced from the Official Report]

Investigation

An Investigation was carried out by the Iceland Transportation Safety Board (ITSB). Airport CCTV and ATC radio communication records were the primary sources of information.

It was noted that the 68 year-old PF had a total of around 21,000 flying hours which included 2,670 hours on type. No information was provided about the First Officer's experience. The pilots were both English speakers and so, in accordance with prevailing Icelandic regulations, ATC communications with the aircraft were conducted in English.

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