What happened
On January 19, 1998, at Rovaniemi Airport, a runway incursion occurred involving two Finnish Air Force Saab 35 S Draken aircraft. The incident took place during morning twilight operations following overnight snowfall.
An air traffic controller issued takeoff clearance for aircraft E-17 for runway 21. Simultaneously, aircraft R-11 was taxiing from the military apron toward holding point Echo. While the controller believed R-11 was instructed to wait at holding point Golf—which would have prevented it from crossing the runway—the aircraft was actually proceeding via holding point Juliet, which required crossing runway 21.
The situation was identified by the pilot of aircraft R-30, who was taxiing on taxiway Tango. The pilot of R-30 radioed the departing aircraft, warning it not to proceed until ensuring R-11 had cleared the runway. The pilot of R-11 subsequently slowed down and stopped at holding point Juliet to wait for the departing aircraft to clear the runway. No collisions or injuries occurred.
The investigation
The investigation examined the radio communications, the movement of all involved aircraft, and the controller's actions. The investigation established that the controller had provided taxi instructions to E-17 that inadvertently mixed up holding points, and that the controller's attention was divided between managing aircraft and communicating with a snow removal vehicle on a different frequency.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incursion was the controller granting takeoff clearance to E-17 while R-11 was approaching the active runway.
- The controller mistakenly instructed R-11 to taxi to holding point Echo instead of Golf. Because Echo is located across the runway, this instruction effectively authorized the aircraft to cross runway 21.
- The controller failed to notice that the pilot of R-11 had read back the incorrect instruction, as the controller was simultaneously communicating with a snow removal vehicle on the vehicle frequency.
- The controller did not verify the readback of the taxi instruction for R-11, which would have revealed the error in the assigned holding point.
- The controller believed the aircraft was waiting at Golf and therefore did not perceive a conflict with the departing aircraft.