What happened
On July 16, 2024, an ATR 72-212A was performing a nighttime takeoff from runway 06 at Cologne/Bonn Airport. During the taxi phase, the flight crew used the left runway edge lights as a visual reference to align the aircraft with the runway. This resulted in a misalignment of the aircraft relative to the runway centerline.
As the aircraft proceeded with the takeoff roll, the nose gear collided with five runway edge lights. Following the impact, the crew elected to continue the flight to Basel-Mulhouse Airport, where subsequent inspections revealed damage to the aircraft. There were no injuries to the crew, though the aircraft sustained light damage and the runway edge lighting system was damaged.