Aerolíneas Plane In Close Call At Barcelona Airport

Not what I need to see just weeks from my BA -> BCN trip with Aerolineas. :mellow:

Hopefully they look into it and tighten things up before I get there.
 
In this particular case, the blame seems to be entirely on the control tower of Barcelona's airport. They were the ones who messed it up.
 
I guess I must agree but having had the "aerolineas" experience many times over 40 years, I want to put some blame on them too!
 
What is the problem, it is all the presses sensationalism:
Aena, the airport operator and ATC service provider, stated that the UTAir Boeing could have continued the landing without any danger, the separation was sufficient. Neither company filed any safety report (editorial note: this statement, although not expressis verbis stating this, suggests that the Airbus was cleared to cross the runway).

http://avherald.com/h?article=476e99b0&opt=0
 
this is the best bit "Aerolíneas asegura que "no hubo una situación de riesgo en ningún momento""

http://www.clarin.com/sociedad/Investigan-incidente-aviones-Barcelona_0_1170483344.html
 
The responsibility for safe operation for the aircraft always remains with the pilots. If there was a runway incursion it would ultimately be the Aerolineas pilots' fault. They had the last responsibility for looking up before proceeding. It is hard to tell the actual separation from the video.

FYI - there are over 4000 "close calls" per year. About 1% of those are considered serious. In 1996 I was on a USAirways flight that landed in Philly. We then proceeded to taxi across the parallel runway towards the terminal. I looked out of my window seat to see a Delta 767 aborting it's takeoff roll coming right at me, tires smoking. Out of complete reaction I yelled, "Sh*t!" Apparently, that got some attention. The flight attendant came over to me and I explained what had just happened. The cabin crew didn't look happy and the flight crew didn't open the cockpit door to say goodbye to anyone, either.
 
The responsibility for safe operation for the aircraft always remains with the pilots.

It is unlikely that the Aerolineas pilot would have done an incursion without the control trower's clearance. Also, from the angle of the Aerolineas A340, it is impossible for the pilots on the cockpit to see the 767 approaching, that is why they rely on the tower. Finally, several articles pointed out that this is a common problem at the airport in Barcelona, which reinforces the idea that it was a tower issue, not a pilot issue.
 
It is indeed difficult to see the degree of separation from the video, the fact remains that the Russian pilot decided to abort the landing. Whether that was out of an abundance of caution or whether the airport people are playing down the incident post facto is something we don't - and probably won't - know.

But yes it would be unimaginably dangerous for a taxiing plane not to be following the instructions of the control tower, so this one is probably on the airport.
 
Back
Top