What happened
On the evening of 01 December 2013, a runway incursion took place at the Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International Airport in Ontario during darkness. A Piaggio P-180, registered C-GFOX, was taxiing across Runway 14 toward Runway 07 with two crew members on board. Simultaneously, a de Havilland DHC8-311, registered C-GEWQ, was operating as Jazz (JZA) 988, a scheduled passenger service bound for Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. This second aircraft, carrying 15 passengers and 3 crew, was taxiing from a de-icing pad toward Runway 14 for departure.
At 1919, the crew of JZA988 received clearance for takeoff and began their takeoff roll. One minute later, the C-GFOX crossed Runway 14, positioned roughly 4400 feet ahead of the departing aircraft. Neither the crew of the Piaggio nor the crew of the Dash 8 became aware that the runway incursion had occurred, and both aircraft completed their movements without further incident.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the movements of both aircraft and the timing of the runway crossing relative to the takeoff roll of the passenger flight. The TSB examined the sequence of taxiing instructions and the positioning of the aircraft on the airfield during the night operations.