Collision between SAS MD-87 and Cessna 525A at Milan-Linate (SE-DMA)

Incident Overview and Aircraft Involved On the morning of 8 October 2001, a Cessna 525A CitationJet 2, registration D-IEVX, arrived at Milan-Linate from Köln. The aircraft was scheduled to return to Paris-Le Bourget with two pilots, a Cessna sales manager, and a prospective customer on board. It arrived at 06:59 and was taxied to the General Aviation apron, also referred to as the West apron. At the same time, a SAS McDonnell Douglas MD-87, operating flight SK686 to Copenhagen, was parked on the North apron and being prepared for departure. The flight carried 104 passengers and was scheduled to depart at 07:35. ## Sequence of Events At 07:41, the MD-87 pilot contacted Linate Ground Control for engine start clearance after boarding was completed. The ground controller cleared the engines to start and advised that the slot time for takeoff was 08:16. Thirteen minutes later, flight 686 was cleared to taxi to runway 36R. A few minutes later, the Cessna pilot requested permission to start the engines and received start-up clearance. The ground controller then instructed flight 686 to contact the Tower controller. From that point, the MD-87 crew and the Cessna crew were on different radio frequencies. At 08:05, the Cessna pilots received a taxi clearance: “Delta Victor Xray taxi north via Romeo 5, QNH 1013, call me back at the stop bar of the ... main runway extension.” The pilot acknowledged: “Roger via Romeo 5 and ... 1013, and call you back before reaching main runway.” The Cessna began taxiing from the General Aviation parking position, following the yellow taxi line. At a point where the yellow taxi line split into two diverging directions, the pilot took the line to the right and entered taxiway R6. At 08:09, the ground controller cleared the Cessna to continue taxiing on the North apron. At the same time, the Tower controller cleared the MD-87 for takeoff: “...Scandinavian 686 Linate, clear for take off 36, the wind is calm report rolling, when airborne squawk ident.” The pilot advanced the throttles and acknowledged: “Clear for takeoff 36 at when...airborne squawk ident and we are rolling, Scandinavian 686.” As the MD-87 accelerated down the runway, the Cessna crossed the runway holding sign and entered active runway 18L/36R. At 08:10:21, the MD-87’s nose landing gear had left the ground, and the main gears were extending the shock absorbers while the main wheels were still on the ground at an airspeed of 146 knots (270.5 km/h). The MD-87 crew probably saw a glimpse of the Cessna through the fog and reacted with additional large nose-up elevator. At that moment, the MD-87 collided with the CitationJet. ## Damage and Aftermath The right wing of the MD-87 sustained damage at the leading edge, and the right main landing gear leg broke off. The aircraft damaged the right flap and struck the number 2 engine, which then separated from the pylon. The MD-87 pilot gradually advanced the throttles, and the aircraft became airborne for a total of 12 seconds, reaching an estimated height of about 35 feet (11 meters). The left engine suffered a noticeable thrust reduction due to debris ingestion, which became insufficient to sustain flight. The airspeed increased to 166 knots (307.6 km/h), but the MD-87 descended abruptly, making contact with the runway with the left main gear, the truncated right main gear leg, and the tip of the right wing. Before touchdown, the pilot reduced engine thrust. After ground contact, the engine reverse levers were activated and deployed on the left engine only. Maximum available reverse thrust was selected, and the brakes were applied. The aircraft skidded past the grass overrun area, across a service road, and crashed sideways into a baggage handling building, which partly collapsed. The building was located 20 meters (67 feet) to the right of the runway and 460 meters (1,500 feet) from the runway end.