Sydney Airport Near-Miss Prompts Safety Review

Air Safety Week, June 22, 2009

A Near-miss between two taxiing passenger jets on a runway at Sydney Airport has prompted a review of air traffic control procedures there.

On July 17, 2008, an Airbus A330-300 carrying 13 crewmembers and 163 passengers bound for Melbourne started its takeoff without clearance by air traffic control, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said. At the same time, a Boeing 747 had been cleared to cross the same runway.

The Airbus crew aborted their takeoff when advised by the control tower they did not have clearance.

In its report on the incident, the ATSB said the flight deck crew of the A330 felt under pressure because the flight had been delayed, had agreed to change runways and had misunderstood an assigned departure heading as a clearance for departure.

Stated the ATSB report: "The safety issue identified as a result of this investigation related to the potential confusion arising from the use of a combined line-up and wait instruction with a departure instruction."

The use of a combined line-up and wait instruction with a departure instruction, as permitted by the Australian Manual of Air Traffic Services, can cause confusion with flight crews," the report said. "(Air traffic control) did not challenge the crew's non-readback of the wait instruction when told to line up and wait on the runway."

The ATSB said the procedure will be reviewed by Airservices Australia, adding that "the action taken by Airservices Australia appears to adequately address the safety issue."

Airservices Australia has advised that any changes to procedure arising from the review would be included in the August 2009 MATS amendment, the ATSB says.

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