What happened
On November 28, 2017, a serious incident involving a runway incursion took place at Charler0i (EBCI) in Belgium. The event involved a PIPER PA28 161, registration OY-PHK, which was taxiing toward runway 25, and a BOEING 737 800 performing a commercial passenger flight on short final for the same runway.
During the taxi phase, the pilot of the OY-PHK received specific instructions from the tower to hold before runway 25, an instruction which the pilot acknowledged via readback. However, the air traffic controller observed the small aircraft approaching the edge of the runway. To prevent a collision, the controller issued an immediate instruction to the crew of the BOEING 737 800 to abort their final approach.
The investigation
The investigation into this incident was conducted by the Belgian Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU). The circumstances established that the event occurred during daylight hours under Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC). The investigation focused on the movement of the aircraft on the ground and the subsequent reactive measures taken by air traffic control.
Findings
- The primary factor in the near-miss was the unauthorized approach of the taxiing aircraft toward the runway holding point.
- The pilot of the OY-PHK failed to maintain the required position despite receiving and reading back instructions to hold.
- There were no injuries and no damage to either aircraft involved.