Incident Overview
On Friday, 11 October 2024, at 20:02 local time, an incident occurred at Palma de Mallorca Airport (Balearic Islands) involving two aircraft: an Airbus A320 (registration EC-MGE) operated by Vueling, and an Embraer Phenom 300 (registration CS-PHG) operated by Netjets Europe. The incident was classified as a runway incursion after both aircraft overlapped on runway 24L.
Sequence of Events
The Embraer Phenom 300 was instructed to land on runway 24L. The air traffic controller requested the crew to accelerate because the following Airbus A320 was already on final approach; at that time, the separation between the two aircraft was 1.7 nautical miles. The Embraer subsequently landed but had not vacated the runway when the Airbus A320 was cleared to land. The distance between the aircraft had reduced to 0.9 nautical miles. The Airbus A320 crossed the runway threshold while the runway was still occupied by the Embraer. Both aircraft remained on the same runway for approximately five seconds before the Embraer vacated via the nearest exit (S1). The Airbus A320 completed its landing without further incident.
Personnel and Aircraft Information
The Airbus A320 carried 6 crew and 157 passengers; no injuries were reported. The Embraer Phenom 300 carried 2 crew and 2 passengers; all occupants were uninjured. Neither aircraft sustained any damage. The Airbus A320 captain, aged 47, held an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) and had a total flight experience of 10,045 hours. The first officer, aged 36, also held an ATPL. The Embraer crew held appropriate licenses; no further personnel details were provided in the report.
Air Traffic Control Aspects
The Short-Term Conflict Alert - Conflict Alert Violation (STCA-VAC) activated when separation between the two aircraft was lost. Controllers in the final approach sector and the tower communicated about the situation. The investigation noted that both air traffic controllers and the Airbus A320 crew accepted the loss of separation without corrective action.
Investigation Findings
The investigation determined that the cause of the incident was the acceptance by air traffic controllers and the Airbus A320 crew of the loss of separation, which resulted in the two aircraft overlapping on the runway. A contributing factor was the delay in reducing speed by the crew of the Airbus A320. The investigation did not consider it necessary to issue any safety recommendations.