A plane almost hit a van crossing the runway on 27th June at Springfield-Branson National Airport, earlier this year, as it left for Chicago with 53 people onboard. The incident was all caught on the video below which shows the airports operations vehicle crossing runway 14 at high speed.
There was an employee barbecue at the firehouse that the airport employees were in a race to get to. They settled on taking the route across two runways in order to get there quicker.
The driver commented in a report after the event. “I decided that due to the time limitations we could cross the runway in order to make it in time,”
It was noted that the driver had called ground control and had been cleared to cross both runway 20 and runway 14 before he proceeded. There was also no communication from ground control on the radio when they crossed.
When the driver reached the crossing they added that they did usually check both ways but couldn’t say on this occasion if they had.
“I can’t honestly say for sure that I looked both ways or how far down the runway I might have looked.”
It wasn’t until the vehicle crossed the second runway that the passenger noticed the aeroplane speeding towards them and shouted to alert the driver. The driver accelerated across the runway and immediately reported the incident to the airport operations supervisor.
The airport industry spends a huge amount of time and energy on safety. The culture of reporting and learning from mistakes made anywhere in the world means that airports are safer now than at any point in history. Yet still across Europe there are an average of two reported runway incursions every day. This incident highlights how human error and a breakdown in communication can lead to a runway incursion.
Simplytrak created the AIM system for this very reason. It is an affordable solution that helps to eliminate the element of human error and reduce the risk of a runway incursion occurring.
The AIM solution is installed in all airside vehicles and requires no external communication to alert drivers to the potential incursion risks. Alerts can be sent to ATC if an airside vehicle is in or near a sensitive or restricted area. ATC and duty managers can view the locations of all airside vehicles at any given time, on-screen, regardless of the visibility on the ground.
Our award-winning AIM system is already a valuable solution, improving operational efficiency and safety across UK airports.
If you would like to learn more about how AIM can assist in the prevention of runway incursions in your airport then contact our Business Development Manager Ian Wood at ian@airsideincursionmitigation.com to arrange a meeting to discuss your requirements and for a full demonstration.