What happened
On 11 October 2024, at approximately 20:02 local time, a runway incursion occurred at Palma de Mallorca Airport involving an Airbus A3EX-232, registration EC-MGE, operated by Vueling, and an Embraer Phenom 300, registration CS-PHG, operated by Netjets Europe.
The incident began when the separation between the two aircraft was lost during the approach phase. The final approach sector controller had issued several speed reduction instructions to the EC-MGE to maintain distance from the preceding CS-PHG. However, the separation eventually breached the minimum required limits, triggering a Short-Term Conflict Alert (STCA) violation.
Despite the loss of separation, the aircraft were transferred to the control tower. The tower controller cleared the EC-MGE to land while the CS-PHG was still occupying runway 24L. As the EC-MGE flew over the runway threshold, the distance between the two aircraft had reduced to 0.9 NM. The two aircraft overlapped on the runway for approximately five seconds before the CS-PHG successfully vacated the runway via exit S1, allowing the EC-MGE to complete its landing without further incident. No injuries were reported among the 163 occupants on the EC-MGE or the 4 occupants on the CS-PHG, and no damage was sustained by either aircraft.
The investigation
The CIAIAC investigation focused on the actions of the air traffic controllers and the flight crew of the EC-MGE. The investigation examined the coordination between the final approach sector controller and the tower controllers, specifically looking at the handover of aircraft control.
Investigators analyzed the speed control performance of both crews and the effectiveness of the ATC instructions. The investigation also reviewed the performance of the control tower controllers, including an instructor and a controller under instruction who were present during the shift change. The analysis focused on why the loss of separation was not addressed through corrective measures such as a missed approach or revised landing clearances.