What happened
On the morning of 10 April 2025, a serious incident occurred at Skukuza Airport (FASZ) involving two separate aircraft operations. The first aircraft, a Beechcraft King Air B200 with registration ZS-PPG, was performing a repositioning flight from Skukuza to Lanseria International Airport. The crew had decided to depart earlier than their originally scheduled slot.
Simultaneously, an Embraer ERJ-190 with registration ZS-YAE, carrying 38 passengers and a crew of two, was on a scheduled commercial flight arriving at Skukula from O.R. Tambo International Airport.
As the ZS-PPG crew taxied toward the holding point of Runway 35, the ZS-YAE was on final approach to land on the reciprocal Runway 17. The pilot of the ZS-PPG began moving the aircraft toward the runway threshold without broadcasting their intentions on the Skukuza ground operations frequency. As the ZS-YAE rolled down the runway, the ZS-PPG crew realized the approaching traffic and reversed the aircraft to avoid a collision. An eyewitness in a nearby ambulance observed the situation and used a two-way radio to instruct ground traffic to hold position until the landing was complete. There were 0 fatalities and no injuries to any persons involved, and no damage was sustained by either aircraft.
The investigation
The SACAA AIID investigation focused on the communication and procedural adherence of both crews and the air traffic service provider. The investigation established that the ZS-PPAG crew had departed earlier than their assigned slot and had failed to notify Skukuza ground operations of this change. While the crew did contact Lowveld Information, they did not broadcast their movement on the local ground frequency (125.25-MHz).
Investigators also examined the actions of the Lowveld Information air traffic control officer (ATCO). The investigation found that while the ZS-PPG crew had contacted the ATCO, the controller failed to provide any traffic updates regarding the inbound ZS-YAE aircraft. Furthermore, the ZS-YAE crew reported making multiple broadcasts on other frequencies to announce their arrival, but noted they received no radio response from the ZS-PPG crew during the incident.
Findings
- The primary cause of the runway incursion was the ZS-PPG entering the active runway without obtaining approval or broadcasting its movement on the Skukuza ground operations frequency.
- A contributing factor was the failure of the Lowveld Information ATCO to alert aircraft in the vicinity about the inbound ZS-YAE flight.