What happened
On January 20, 2020, a SpiceJet Boeing 737-800, registration VT-SZK, operating a scheduled flight from Mumbai to Hyderabad, landed on a closed runway during its arrival. The aircraft was initially cleared by Air Traffic Control (ATC) for a VOR approach to Runway 09L. Due to being high on the approach, the flight crew requested vectoring to adjust their descent rate, a request which was granted and correctly read back.
While the aircraft was following the final approach track for Runway 09L, the crew began maneuvering to the right after passing the VOR. This movement aligned the aircraft with Runway 09R, which was closed at the time for inspection. At the moment of touchdown, a runway inspection vehicle was still on the closed runway, though it had just completed its checks. There were no injuries to the 179 passengers or 6 crew members, and no damage was reported to the aircraft or ground equipment.
The investigation
AAIB India's investigation focused on the sequence of clearances and the crew's decision-making. The investigation established that ATC had provided correct landing clearances for Runway 09L, and the flight crew had read these instructions back accurately. However, the investigation found that the crew did not monitor the latest Digital Automatic Terminal Information Service (DATIS) during the flight, which would have confirmed the active runway.
Investigators also noted that the physical distance between the two parallel runways is only 225 meters, making it difficult for Tower controllers to visually distinguish which runway an aircraft is approaching when it is at a low altitude. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was unavailable for analysis because the crew proceeded with subsequent flight sectors without following required procedures for incident reporting, leading to the overwriting of the data.
Findings
- The flight crew operated under confirmation bias, believing that Runway 09R would be available for use by the time they arrived.
- The Pilot Monitoring failed to supervise the Pilot Flying when the aircraft began the incorrect maneuver toward the closed runway.
- A lack of specific cautionary information in the DATIS broadcast contributed to the risk of runway misidentification.
- The absence of visible cross markers on the closed runway and the lack of personnel on the strip reinforced the crew's incorrect assumption that the runway was operational.
- The Tower controller did not issue a go-around instruction when the inspection vehicle reported an approaching aircraft, as the aircraft was already too low for a safe intervention.