Incidents Overview
The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore (TSIB) investigated two serious incidents involving misaligned take-offs on Runway 03 at Seletar Airport. Both aircraft started and maintained their take-off roll on the right edge of the runway, leading to damage to runway edge lights and aircraft components.
Aircraft A (17 July 2024)
A Dassault Falcon 900EX (registration M-ILTA), operated by Allianz Se, was scheduled to fly from Seletar Airport to Muscat, Oman. The two-captain crew performed pre-flight checks and taxi without issues. At about 2119 hours, the aircraft lined up on Runway 03 as instructed by the Runway Controller. According to flight data recorder (FDR) and CCTV footage, the aircraft did not align on the centerline but instead positioned itself on the right edge of the runway. After a 17-second pause, the take-off roll began. During rotation, the crew heard a loud noise and reported it to the controller. A subsequent runway inspection found one damaged runway edge light near Taxiway E2. The crew continued to Muscat. After landing, the nose landing gear auxiliary shield door was found on the runway, and damage to a nose landing gear tyre was discovered.
Aircraft B (6 October 2024)
A Bombardier Global 6000 (registration T7-RIC), operated by Luxaviation, was scheduled to fly to Bangalore, India. The two-captain crew taxied slowly to Holding Point E4. The Runway Controller cleared the aircraft to line up and take off. The pilot flying used the head-up display and followed the taxiway centerline when turning onto the runway. After an 11-second stop, the take-off roll began. FDR and CCTV data showed the aircraft also started and stayed on the right edge of the runway. No abnormal noises were reported during take-off. About 24 minutes after departure, a landing aircraft reported debris on the runway. Inspection revealed seven consecutive runway edge lights on the right side of Runway 03 and one taxiway edge light damaged. After landing in Bangalore, the aircraft had damage to the right main landing gear wheel assemblies and hydraulic fluid leakage from the right brake system.
Damage and Aftermath
In both incidents, the aircraft sustained damage from striking runway edge lights. For Aircraft A, the nose landing gear auxiliary shield door detached and was found on the runway. For Aircraft B, the right main landing gear wheels and brake system were damaged. The aerodrome operator conducted runway inspections after each incident. The TSIB noted that the misaligned take-offs likely occurred because the aircraft aligned with the runway side stripe marking (runway edge line) instead of the centerline.
Investigation Findings
The TSIB determined that both aircraft likely misaligned on the runway side stripe marking on the right side of Runway 03. Contributing factors were analyzed but not stated as a single probable cause. The investigation did not identify any pre-existing aircraft damage or pilot error beyond the misalignment.