What happened
On the night of 28 May 2005, a Boeing MD-11 (registration PH-KCK) was cleared for takeoff from runway 24 at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Shortly before the aircraft began its takeoff roll, a bird control vehicle, known as Kievit 2, was operating on the same runway to remove animal remains. While the vehicle was in the process of vacating the runway, the aircraft passed directly overhead the vehicle. There were no injuries and no damage to the aircraft, but the incident was classified as a serious occurrence due to the significant reduction in separation.
The investigation
The investigation examined the coordination between air traffic control and ground operations. It was established that the controller was managing multiple roles—ground, runway, and assistant functions—simultually, as no supervisor was present in the tower at the time. The investigation found that while the controller had granted the vehicle permission to enter the runway, the driver of the bird control vehicle did not communicate via radio that they were stopping to clear animal remains from the runway surface. Furthermore, the controller turned off the runway occupation light once the vehicle was no longer visible, which occurred while the vehicle was still on the runway.
Findings
Several contributing factors led to this near-collision:
- The controller's ability to monitor the vehicle was hindered by the darkness and the presence of various illuminated runway and taxi lights, which made it difficult to distinguish the vehicle's exact position.
- The flight crew of the Boeing MD-11 was unable to visually identify the vehicle at a distance of 3500 meters during the night operations.
- The driver of the bird control vehicle failed to report the intention to stop and perform work on the runway, which prevented the controller from being aware of the stationary hazard.
- The absence of a supervisor in the tower meant there was no additional safety net to intervene or oversee the combined duties of the controller.