What happened
During the early morning hours of 11 June 2014, a runway maintenance project was conducted at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya. The work, performed by an external contractor, involved patching the runway surface using heavy equipment including a pneumatic compressor, jackhammer, and various tools. While the maintenance team reported the runway was clear by 04:50 LT, no formal inspection was conducted following the departure of the crew.
As airport operations resumed at 05:00 LT, several aircraft landed and departed without incident. However, at 06:09 LT, a pilot reported seeing debris near a taxiway intersection. Despite this report, the air traffic controller instructed airport rescue vehicles to wait for several scheduled landings to complete before inspecting the area. At 06:20 LT, an ATR 7 and2-212A, registration PK-WGK, landed on the runway and struck abandoned equipment. The impact of a heavy chisel caused eight holes to be punctured in the aircraft's lower fuselage.
Subsequent inspections by airport rescue personnel revealed that a 10-meter compressor hose, a 60 cm jackhammer, and a 4.5 kg chisel had been left on the runway centerline.
The investigation
KNKT investigators examined the maintenance procedures and the communication between airport staff and air traffic control. The inquiry established that the maintenance crew, primarily composed of construction workers without specific airside training, had not utilized a checklist to verify that all tools were removed after the job. Furthermore, the investigation found that the initial runway inspections performed during the dark hours failed to identify the dark-colored objects against the dark runway surface. The inquiry also noted that the air traffic controller did not sufficiently clarify the nature or exact location of the reported debris with the reporting pilots, which delayed the decision to halt operations.
Findings
- The primary cause of the damage was the failure to conduct a proper runway inspection following maintenance, which allowed dark-colored tools to remain undetected on the runway surface.
- Insufficient details provided by pilots regarding the location and description of the debris prevented an accurate risk assessment by the controller.
- There was a lack of formal procedures for inspecting runways after construction work is completed.
- The maintenance contractor lacked specific qualifications for working in an active airside environment.