Introduction
A serious incident occurred on February 21, 2022, at Sofia Airport, Bulgaria, involving a Falcon 2000EX aircraft, registration CS-DFG, operated by NetJets Europe as flight NJE550Q from Sofia to Stavanger/Sola Airport. The incident was investigated by the Air, Maritime and Railway Accident Investigation National Board (AMRAINB) in accordance with international and national regulations.
Flight Details
The flight crew received clearance for line-up and take-off from Runway 09. Instead of entering Runway 09, the pilots commenced the take-off roll on Taxiway H, which runs parallel to the runway. The Sofia Tower air traffic controller (ATCO) subsequently cancelled the take-off clearance at approximately 13:12 UTC.
Event Description
As the aircraft accelerated, at about 40 knots the Runway Awareness Advisory System (RAAS) issued an aural advisory message, "On Taxiway, On Taxiway." The flight crew reduced speed and brought the aircraft to a stop before the intersection of Taxiway C. After coordination with the air traffic controller, the crew performed a reverse turn and taxied back along Taxiway H, then lined up on Runway 09 for departure without further incident.
Analysis and Findings
The investigation determined that the flight crew failed to positively identify that they were on the correct surface for take-off. Contributing factors included ineffective crew coordination during the short taxi time from the parking stand to the line-up point. Specifically, the pilot-in-command did not conduct a detailed briefing before taxi and take-off, the co-pilot did not adequately monitor the aircraft's movement on the manoeuvring area, and an erroneous change of VHF radio frequency by the crew prevented them from hearing ATC instructions during the taxi.
Cause
The serious incident resulted from the failure of the flight crew to positively identify that they were on the correct surface for take-off. No other causes were identified by the investigation.