Incident Overview
On Sunday, 22 September 2013, at 19:04 UTC, an Airbus A319-111, registration EC-JEI, operated by Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A., was cleared to land on runway 18L at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (LEMD). At the same time, a service vehicle with call sign PAPA4, operated by Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea (AENA), was conducting a runway inspection in the final section of the runway. The inspection was requested by the local controller of the TWR LEMD due to a bird strike report that affected a previous aircraft. The aircraft touched down on the runway while the vehicle occupied the turning pad located before the threshold. The aircraft had 5 crew members and 98 passengers on board, all uninjured. The vehicle had one occupant, a maintenance operations technician, who was also uninjured.
Investigation Findings
The investigation revealed that the controller's instruction for the maintenance operations technician (TOAM) to vacate the runway was not received by the vehicle's radio. Tests confirmed that both the transmitting and receiving equipment for the 118.675 MHz frequency at the airport functioned correctly. The vehicle's radio was also found to be within the parameters specified by the maintenance technical standard. A radio coverage assessment of the airport verified that signal levels were guaranteed in the area.
During the landing, the necessary safety conditions for a secure operation were not present. The report also documented the evolution and improvement of runway inspection procedures, particularly in the Operational Manual of TWR LEMD.
Cause
The investigation concluded that a loss of radio communication between the control tower and the service vehicle caused the runway incursion.