Air carrier flight crew on take off roll reported an airport vehicle drove onto the runway. Flight crew rejected the takeoff.
Synopsis
Air carrier flight crew on take off roll reported an airport vehicle drove onto the runway. Flight crew rejected the takeoff.
Narrative
At approximately XA30; ZZZ ATC cleared us for takeoff runway XXC. During the takeoff we noticed an airport vehicle approaching the runway at a high speed. A few seconds later; when it became clear that the vehicle was not stopping; I decided to stop the takeoff. We rejected the takeoff around 100 knots. Just a moment after the takeoff was rejected; the airport vehicle entered the runway and subsequently stopped in the middle of the runway after ATC issued a stop; stop; stop command. After accomplishing our duties; we taxied back to the gate for maintenance to perform their inspections. No damage or injuries were reported. The local controller and airport vehicle may have had a lapse of concentration and some expectation bias from the airport vehicle that the runway was still closed. The local controller should ensure that all airport vehicles are aware of the status of an active runway. These events are happening to often for comfort. Kudos to my crew for their vigilance and professionalism for the safe outcome of this event.
Second reporter narrative
At the time of pushback; XXR was the only runway open for departure. We were one of the first; if not the first departure of the day at XA20. As we were taxiing out; the ground controller said she just received a phone call that XXC had just opened and offered it to us. We accepted the change because we were closer to that runway. During our take off roll; just after the 80 kt call; we both noticed an airport vehicle traveling eastbound on what looked like taxiway 1 toward our runway. They did not stop; the red stop bar lights illuminated and we rejected takeoff at approximately 100kts. During the same time; the tower controller was yelling at the airport vehicle to stop and instructed us to cancel our takeoff clearance which we were already doing. Our gross weight was approximately 175k. We exited the runway at taxiway 2. After determining everyone in the cabin was ok and the airplane was safe to taxi; we taxied back to the gate for a maintenance inspection. We did not hear anything on the radio from the local controller about the vehicle or anything from the vehicle itself about crossing the runway. I do not know why the airport vehicle crossed our runway without a clearance; but I assume it's because they thought the runway was still closed and was free to cross at will. The local controller told us directly that they just opened XXC; but there was never an official announcement made to all vehicles that the runway was open.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.