By Simon Hradecky, created Wednesday, Mar 16th 2016 14:20Z, last updated Thursday, Mar 29th 2018 16:01Z A KLM Cityhopper Embraer ERJ-190, registration PH-EXB performing flight KL-1986 from Basel/Mulhouse (Switzerland/France) to Amsterdam (Netherlands), was taxiing for intersection departure from taxiway D and was instructed to "hold short of runway 33 DELTA", the crew read back "Line up and wait runway 33 DELTA".



A Skyworks Dornier Do-328, registration HB-AEO performing flight SX-521 from Basel/Mulhouse (Switzerland/France) to Bern (Switzerland), was cleared to line up runway 15 from taxiway G and subsequently cleared for takeoff from runway 15, when the Embraer went past the hold short line runway 33 and lined up runway 33. The Dornier rotated and climbed out over the Embraer.



The French BEA reported on Mar 16th 2016, that the occurrence was rated a serious incident (runway incursion) and is being investigated by the BEA.



The distance between taxiways G and D is 1350 meters/4430 feet.



On Mar 29th 2018 the BEA released their final report concluding the probable causes of the serious incident were:



The runway incursion resulted from an incorrect understanding of the ATC instruction by the crew of flight KLM1986 and the ATC not detecting the read-back error. A partial visual check by the crew, prior to entering the runway, and partial ATC surveillance did not prevent the incursion.



The following factors may have contributed to the event:



- an inaccurate perception of the crew regarding the runway in use;



- time pressure and distraction in the cockpit;



- use of a short taxiway to the runway which left little time for the crew to build an appropriate perception of the actual situation;



- simultaneous management by the ATC of a VFR flight and another IFR flight leaving from runway 33.



This serious incident highlights the weakness of safety barriers when they are based solely on:



- crew/ATC communication;

- vigilance of crews and ATCs.



The BEA reported that the Dornier at at 380 feet AGL when crossing over the Embraer about 14 seconds after the Embraer had entered runway 33. When ATC instructed the KLM to stop and hold position, the Dornier crew radoied: "We are airborne, we are airborne, don’t worry!" (time point 11 in the map by BEA below).



The BEA reported a trainee under supervision by an instructor was staffing the tower position at the aerodrome at the time of the occurrence. Traffic volume was rather low.



The BEA corrected their initial (French) report stating the last clearance to the KLM had been "line up runway 33 up after the departing Dornier 328", which was met by the read back "line up for takeoff" - the English version of that preliminary information had read: "Air traffic control asked the pilot of the Embraer 190 to hold short of runway 33. The pilot read back: 'lineup and wait'".



The instructor reported that just prior to the incursion the Dornier had called prompting him to visually locate the aircraft. When he turned his eyes back he noticed the trainee had already detected the incursion and was instructing the Embraer to stop.



The BEA summarized the trainee's most relevant testimony: "After asking the crew of flight KLM1986 (which he could also see) to hold short of runway 33 DELTA, he turned to the right. He did not remember the reason why he looked away from the runway. It was either to see the VFR aircraft calling at point NE or to coordinate with the tower cab coordinator. He specified that he noticed the runway incursion when he looked back to the runway and the "DELTA area”. He then asked the aircraft to stop."



The Dornier crew reported they became aware of the Embraer when they were close to V1/Vr and estimated the distance to the Embraer at 300 meters. They rotated normally and believed there were at least 10 meters between the aircraft. The BEA wrote: "The crew stated that at no moment had they considered aborting the take-off because it seemed to them that the collision would have been inevitable if they had done so."



The BEA summarized the testimonary of the KLM crew:



Neither of the two crew members accurately recalled the sequence of the event, the clearance provided by the LOC ATC or their read back, but explained that they were both convinced at that time that they had received authorisation to line up on runway 33.



The captain stated that he looked towards the threshold of runway 33 to ensure that there were no aircraft on take-off or on short final and then entered the runway. He stated that he did not look to the right as he did not consider it necessary because, according to him, only runway 33 was in use at that particular time.



The BEA analysed the phraseology in use:



At the time of the serious incident, the radio-telephony procedures for the use of general air traffic, in force in France, were different to those recommended by ICAO in terms of the vocabulary used for the hold short clearances. France had notified ICAO of this difference:



ICAO recommends the following phraseology:

 “KLM1986 hold short of holding point DELTA runway 33."



France uses the following phraseology:

 “KLM1986 maintain holding point DELTA runway 33."



The DEL/GND ATC clearance was “KLM1986 maintain 33 DELTA, contact tower 118.3 bye bye."



The hold short clearances given by the LOC ATC were in accordance with those defined in the ICAO texts.



The BEA analysed the situational awareness of the Air Traffic Controllers (trainee and instructor):



In response to the ATC clearance, "KLM1986 bonjour, hold short of runway 33 DELTA," the crew of flight KLM1986 read back, "Line up and wait runway 33 DELTA.”



The LOC ATCs (trainee and instructor) did not detect that the crew had not understood its hold short of holding point clearance and therefore did not correct the crew read-back.



This could have been perceived by the crew as an implicit confirmation to line up on runway 15/33.



The studies cited above mention that listening to the read-back can be affected by an expectancy bias. Thus the ATCs may have perceived only a "correct" part of the read-back ("one one eight decimal three", "runway 33 DELTA") and concluded that the whole message was correct.



Three seconds after the read-back error on the LOC frequency, calls from a VFR pilot and a crew ready to take off on QFU 33 probably caught the attention of the LOC ATCs by bringing new information to be handled, to the detriment of the task of analysing the previous readback and the visual check of the aircraft during taxiing. The ATCs added that in fact they had then looked at the VFR and then the SRK51R then taxiing for take-off. They only detected the presence of KLM1986 when it was too late and had already entered the runway.



The erroneous understanding of the ATC's request, probably due to the crew’s inaccurate situational awareness (active runway, take-off order number) and failure to detect the readback error, led to the serious incident. The lack of a visual check of the two ends of the runway by the crew before entering the runway and the late visual detection by the ATCs did not prevent the runway incursion.



Metars:

LFSB 070900Z 13006KT 100V160 9999 FEW026 SCT110 04/M02 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070830Z 13007KT 9999 FEW026 SCT110 04/M01 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070800Z 15004KT 110V200 9999 SCT033 SCT110 03/M00 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070730Z VRB02KT 9999 SCT033 SCT070 02/M00 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070700Z VRB02KT 9999 SCT033 SCT070 00/M00 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070630Z VRB02KT 9999 FEW033 SCT070 M01/M02 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070600Z VRB02KT 9999 BKN030 SCT083 M00/M01 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070530Z VRB02KT 9999 BKN030 SCT083 00/M01 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070500Z 00000KT 9999 BKN030 BKN083 00/M01 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070430Z 06003KT 010V100 9999 BKN028 OVC080 01/M01 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070400Z VRB02KT 9999 FEW028 BKN030 OVC056 01/M01 Q1004 NOSIG

LFSB 070330Z 06003KT 9999 BKN028 BKN033 OVC056 01/M01 Q1004 NOSIG



Map and Trajectories (Graphics: BEA):





Aerodrome Chart (Graphics: BEA): </s> A light aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Luqa airport in Malta, killing at least five people

A small plane which crashed in a fireball at Malta International Airport soon after take-off, killing all five crew members aboard, had been heading to Libya to monitor migrant trafficking routes for the French government.

The twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner exploded in a huge ball of flame and smoke shortly after take-off on Monday morning.

A statement from the Maltese government said all five victims were French.

It added that the flight was part of a French customs surveillance operation tracing routes of illicit trafficking, including drugs and people-smuggling.

Part of the burning wreckage ended up on a road outside the perimeter of the airport.

The plane was on its way to Misrata on the Libyan coast.

Malta International Airport has been temporarily closed until the debris is cleared, with over a dozen flights delayed or cancelled, according to a notice on the airport website. </s> A small plane which crashed in a fireball at Malta International Airport soon after take-off, killing all five crew members aboard, had been heading to Libya to monitor migrant trafficking routes for the French government.

The twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner exploded in a huge ball of flame and smoke shortly after take-off on Monday morning.

A statement from the Maltese government said all five victims were French.

It added that the flight was part of a French customs surveillance operation tracing routes of illicit trafficking, including drugs and people-smuggling.

Part of the burning wreckage ended up on a road outside the perimeter of the airport.

The plane was on its way to Misrata on the Libyan coast.

Malta International Airport has been temporarily closed until the debris is cleared, with over a dozen flights delayed or cancelled, according to a notice on the airport website.

’Like’ The Scotsman on Facebook for regular updates

DOWNLOAD THE SCOTSMAN APP ON ITUNES OR GOOGLE PLAY </s> At least 50 people were killed after a US-Bangla Airlines flight crashedwhile landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu on Monday.

The plane, which had 71 people on board, skidded off the runway and careened into a football field as it was trying to land. Authorities said the fire in the plane is under control and rescue operations are underway.

Here are some of the world’s deadliest plane crashes in the last decade:

February 18, 2018: All 65 passengers and crew were feared dead in a plane crash in central Iran, after the domestic flight came down in bad weather in a mountainous region.

February 11, 2018: A Russian passenger plane carrying 71 people crashed outside Moscow after taking off from the capital’s Domodedovo airport, killing everyone on board. News agencies said witnesses in the village of Argunovo saw a burning plane falling from the sky.

December 25, 2016: A Russian military plane carrying 92 people, including dozens of Red Army Choir singers, dancers and orchestra members, crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria, killing everyone on board.

May 19, 2016: An EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean Sea after swerving in mid-air and plunging from cruising height. French President Francois Hollande confirmed the aircraft “came down and is lost”.

October 31, 2015: Russian airline Kogalymavia’s Airbus crashes over central Sinai. All 224 on board killed.Russia said on 17 November that a “terror act” was responsible for the crash and that “traces of foreign explosives” were found on debris of the Airbus, reported the BBC.

June 30, 2015: Indonesian Hercules C-130 military transport plane crashes in Medan two minutes after take-off. All 122 people on board, including service men and their families, and at least 19 people on the ground died.

March 24, 2015: Pilot deliberately crashes Germanwings Airbus in French Alps. Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot, was ‘depressed’ during pilot training, said sources, and was on anti-depressants. All 148 people on board died.

December 28, 2014: AirAsia flight goes missing over the Java Sea in bad weather. There were 162 passengers and crew on board. It was later reported that the flight crashed into the Java Sea and debris from the crash as well as human remains were recovered from the sea.

July 24, 2014: Air Algerie flight AH 5017 goes missing over Mali with 116 on board, feared to have crashed in violent storm. The plane took off from Burkina Faso and was headed to Algiers, when it crashed.

July 14, 2014: A Malaysia Airlines flight crashed in the region of Donetsk, the focal point of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew members died.

March 8, 2014: Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 on board — including five Indians — went missing over the South China Sea. On March 24, Malaysia declared missing MH370 ‘lost’.

June 3, 2012: Dana Air MD-83 jet crashes into residential area of Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, killing all 153 people aboard.

April 20, 2012: Bhoja Air Boeing 737 crashes in wheat fields near Islamabad, Pakistan while trying to land during thunder storm, killing 127 people.

Jan 9, 2011: Iran Air Boeing 727 breaks to pieces on impact in northwestern Iran. 77 dead.

July 28, 2010: July 28, 2010: Airbus 321 flying from Karachi crashes into hills outside Islamabad, all 152 on board dead

May 22, 2010: Air India Express Boeing 737 crashes in Mangalore airport killing 158. The aircraft, which was coming from Dubai, overshot the runway on landing, fell over a cliff, and caught fire. Out of 160 passengers and six crew members, only eight survived, making this the third-deadliest crash India has seen.

May 12, 2010: Afriqiyah Airways plane en route to Tripoli, Libya, from Johannesburg, South Africa, crashes into the desert less than a mile from the runway, killing 103 people.

April 10, 2010: The plane of Polish President Lech Kaczynski crashes outside the western Russian city of Smolensk, killing all 96 aboard.

July 15, 2009: 168 killed in Iran plane crash, after a Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 flight from Tehran to Armenia crashed in a village off north-western Iran.

June 30, 2009: Yemenia Airbus 310 en route to the Comoros Islands crashes into the Indian Ocean with 153 people on board, after encountering bad weather.

June 1, 2009: Air France Airbus A330 runs into thunderstorms and crashes into Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, killing 228 people on board. </s> Get the biggest Daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email

A Red Arrows jet missed a civilian plane by just 100 feet after taking off - sparking an investigation by officials.

The pilot did not see the civilian aircraft until he was flying over it, the UK Airprox Board ruled.

The incident happened on August 20, 2017, at 4.49pm, as the Red Arrow jet left Biggin Hill, near London.

The civilian aircraft was flying from Farnborough, Hampshire.

The information has been released by the Airprox board from a meeting held earlier this year.

It was ruled that the two pilots saw each other at the same time.

The report states: "This incident occurred in a busy area of airspace during a particularly high workload portion of the mission – departure and rejoin of multiple Hawks for onward transit.

"Without a surveillance-based Air Traffic Service, the Hawk pilot was relying on his own lookout to avoid other aircraft."

The civilian aircraft was first seen slightly left of the nose.

The report added that both pilots felt no avoiding action was necessary after seeing each other as the hawk jet, used by the Red Arrows, was in a left hand turn and the pilot of the civilian plane judged that "adequate separation already existed".

The report added: "The Board quickly agreed that it had effectively been a non-sighting by the Hawk pilot in that he had only seen the C172 as he passed over it, and then too late to take avoiding action.

"The Board spent some time assessing the risk.

"The radar replay indicated that the two aircraft were in very close proximity, but both pilots estimated the separation to be more than the 100ft shown."

There was a debate among the board as to whether the event was a Category B risk rating - where the safety had been compromised - but it was eventually agreed the event was a Category C rating.

This meant there was no risk of collision because the risk was averted or there was no risk in the first place. </s> Forty-one people on board a Russian Aeroflot passenger plane, including at least one child, were killed after the aircraft caught fire during a bumpy emergency landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport Sunday. Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal case and was looking into whether the pilots had violated air safety rules.

Television footage showed the Sukhoi Superjet 100 crash bouncing along the tarmac before the rear part of the plane burst into flames. Many passengers onboard SU 1492 then escaped via the plane's emergency slides that inflated after the hard landing. — The plane, flying from Moscow to the northern Russian city of Murmansk, had been carrying 73 passengers and five crew members, Russia’s national aviation watchdog said. — The pilots requested to turn back shortly after taking off at 6:03 p.m. Moscow time. Radio traffic reportedly died after unconfirmed reports that the plane was hit by lightning. The Flightradar24 tracking service showed the plane had circled twice over Moscow before landing after just under 30 minutes in the air.

— Only 37 out of 78 people on board had survived, Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement, meaning 41 people had lost their lives. Aeroflot said the Superjet’s engines caught fire after landing. — Some passengers delayed the evacuation process by attempting to remove their carry-on luggage from the overhead compartments, preventing passengers near the tail end from escaping, a source with knowledge told Interfax. — No official cause has been given for the disaster. Investigators say they are considering several leads, including insufficient qualifications of the pilots, air traffic controllers or aircraft inspectors; technical malfunctions; and poor weather conditions. — Authorities are considering equipment failure from a lightning strike as the primary cause of the disaster, an unnamed source with knowledge of the incident told Interfax on Monday. Emergency officials had issued a storm warning in parts of Moscow for Sunday afternoon and evening. — Aviation experts have begun analyzing one of three flight data recorders, Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh told reporters on Monday.

— More than 40 flights have been rerouted to neighboring airports as of Monday morning, most of them to Moscow’s Domodedovo airport, Interfax reported. — Sheremetyevo continues to operate on a single runway 18 hours after the disaster. — The airport’s online table shows several delays and cancellations for both domestic and international arrivals. Only one departing flight has been canceled.

— Valery Postnikov, director of the Society for Independent Accident Investigations: "There are not enough of them [Sukhoi Superjet aircrafts] to talk about their reputation. If I am not mistaken, there are a little more than 100 of them in use now. Until yesterday, there was only one disaster in Indonesia [in 2012]. No one has determined exactly why yesterday's crash happened yet. I wouldn’t rule out the pilot's error as a cause. The problem was definitely not related to the aircraft itself. The problem is [likely] related to the organization of after-sale service, air traffic communication, whether there was a prediction and whether there was danger from a thunderstorm. I think this catastrophe may affect Aeroflot, but not the Sukhoi Superjet, at least for now."

"The plane is good, pilots praise this plane. There are failures we cannot predict. In this case, it has nothing to do with the aircraft itself. [The Sukhoi Superjet] has problems, just like all young aircrafts do. But the problem is with the organization around these aircrafts, and something must be done about it. Any crash is bad both for the company and for the aircraft. But what can we do? We will continue to fly and live."

"Aeroflot is recognized as a top company and the Sukhoi Superjet is recognized as a terrific airplane. The plane itself is certified by many organizations; it has a very good reputation. This is [the Sukhoi Superjet]’s first accident during commercial use. It is an extraordinary tragedy. It could take weeks before we understand what happened. The pilots did a terrific job. The passengers' videos taken inside the plane could have slowed down the evacuation process and many passengers could have lost their lives because of that – but we do not know. I think there will be an impact [on the company] but international travelers will continue to use Aeroflot, it is a very good airline."

— Sunday’s disaster is the first major deadly incident for Aeroflot since 2008, when 88 passengers and crew were killed after its Boeing 737 caught fire and crashed in Perm. — The Superjet entered service in 2011 and was the first new passenger jet developed in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. It has been hit, however, by sporadic concerns over safety and reliability, including a December 2016 grounding after a defect was discovered in an aircraft's tail section. Another Superjet 100 was decommissioned after it rolled off the runway in Russia's Far East republic of Sakha in October 2018. — During a demonstration flight to woo potential buyers in Indonesia on May 9, 2012, an experienced Russian pilot lowered altitude and hit the side of a mountain. Information recovered from the Sukhoi Superjet 100's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder indicated that the pilot in command was chatting with a potential buyer in the cockpit just before the plane slammed into Mount Salak. — The burned-down aircraft itself previously suffered a malfunction when its flaps failed to open on landing in January 2018, an unnamed aviation industry source told the Kommersant business daily. — Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry does not plan to ground its Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft after Sunday’s crash landing, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited the ministry as saying. Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh later told reporters Russia sees no reason to ground its domestic-made aircraft. </s> A coroner says two people died after two planes collided at a northeastern Indiana airport.

Grant County Coroner Chris Butche has identified the victims as the pilot, 31-year-old Kyle Hibst, and passenger, 31-year-old David Wittkamper, both of Elwood. They were members of the Pipe Creek Township Volunteer Fire Department.

Butche tells WTHR-TV a Cessna 150 carrying Hibst and Wittkamper took off from Marion Municipal Airport on Monday and clipped a larger Cessna 525 Citation Jet that was landing. He says the smaller plane crashed and caught fire.

READ MORE: 1 dead, 1 injured after planes collide over Montreal south shore shopping mall

Butche says the five people on the larger plane weren’t injured.

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration says it will investigate the incident. The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified, and will be in charge of the investigation. </s> Three French defence ministry staff and two others were killed when a plane heading towards Libya to monitor migrant trafficking routes crashed shortly after take-off at Malta’s main airport.

The US-registered light aircraft, on lease to a company in Luxembourg, was seen banking sharply before plummeting to the ground and exploding in a huge fireball at around 7:20am local time.

Malta’s government said the five men were part of a French customs surveillance operation tracing routes of human and drug trafficking.

The plane, a twin-propeller Fairchild Metroliner Mark III, had been heading for Misrata in north-west Libya.

A government spokesman said witnesses had confirmed there was no explosion prior to impact. Actor Edward De Gaetano was returning to London when he witnessed the aftermath of the crash.

He said: “We were about to take off; moments before we did from our windows we could see a massive explosion – at first we had no idea what caused it.”

He added: “Then there was a second explosion and I thought ‘Oh my God, this is not just a fire’. We are all a bit stunned.”

Mr De Gaetano said it was “definitely not a military plane” which had crashed – with flames from the explosion “engulfing” a nearby tree.

Before the crash he said everything seemed “very, very normal”.

Video shot by Mr De Gaetano shows flames and thick black smoke billowing from the crash site next to the runway.

Another eyewitness quoted by the Times of Malta said: “I heard the scream of a plane, and then saw it come crashing down. It burst into flames immediately.

“Very little of the plane was left, just some debris.”

The Maltese government confirmed that all of the victims’ remains have been recovered.

French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed that three of the victims were ministry staff while the other two were contractors working for the company who leased the crashed aircraft.

The French Customs department quashed earlier reports that the victims were French customs officials, tweet that none were aboard the downed plane.

Early reports that the victims had been officials from the EU’s border agency were also quickly denied. Frontex said none of its staff had been involved.

The airport was closed for four hours while debris was cleared, causing dozens of flights to be delayed and cancelled and officials warned it would take “some time” for the schedule to return to normal.

A spokesman for the airport at Luqa said: “We can confirm that the five crew on board the aircraft are deceased. Our thoughts are with families of people involved in this accident.

“An investigation is currently ongoing and we are working with all the authorities to provide them with any assistance necessary.”

Libya is the main point of departure for the tens of thousands of migrants who have been paying smugglers to bring them toward Europe by boat.

Malta’s International Airport is used for surveillance flights to Libya due to its proximity. The Maltese government said the flight had been due to return to the island within hours without landing in third countries.

The government added that the French surveillance operation has been active for about five months, tasked with tracing illicit trafficking routes “of all sorts, including human and drug trafficking.”

The Metroliner was registered in the US and leased to a Luxembourg company, CAE Aviation group.

In a statement, CAE Aviation said that the aircraft had no history of technical issues. </s> Twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner that crashed after takeoff was part of French customs surveillance operation heading for Libyan coast

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A small plane heading towards Libya’s coast to monitor migrant trafficking routes for the French government has crashed soon after taking off from Malta’s main airport, killing all five people on board.

The twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner banked right and hit the ground, causing a huge fireball, at about 7.20am local time (0520 GMT), video captured by a dashboard camera showed.

Malta’s government said all five victims were French and that the flight was part of a French customs surveillance operation tracing routes of illicit trafficking, of humans and drugs, leaving Libya’s lawless coasts.

Libya is the main point of departure for tens of thousands of migrants who have been paying smugglers to bring them toward Europe by boat.

Early media reports said the plane had been chartered by the European Union’s border control agency, Frontex.

Malta’s international airport is used for surveillance flights to Libya due to its proximity. The government said the French customs operation had been active for about five months.

The airport was closed for four hours while debris was cleared, delaying more than a dozen flights, according to a notice on the airport website.

The Metroliner was registered in the US and leased to a Luxembourg company, the government statement added.
The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile completes its probe into the March 2016 near-miss between two commercial aircraft at Basel/Mulhouse Airport, concluding miscommunication between an air crew and air traffic control was to blame. One aircraft took off over the top of the other one.