Hong Kong CAD issues final report on A340 attempted taxiway takeoff

Chart of runway 07L and taxiway A at Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department released the final investigation report into the serious incident involving an Airbus A340 that attempted to take off from a taxiway.

The serious incident occurred on November 27, 2010. The incident flight involved a Finnair Airbus A340-313X which operated on flight AY070 from Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok International Airport (HKG/VHHH) to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (HEL/EFHK).

The incident occurred at night time and in good visibility conditions. One of the runways was closed for maintenance.  The north runway (07L/25R) remained operational with runway 07L in use for both arrivals and departures.

Flight 070 was cleared by ATC to taxi on taxiway B westbound for departure on runway 07L. When the aircraft was approaching the western end of taxiway B, ATC cleared the aircraft for take-off on runway 07L. The aircraft took the normal right turn at the end of taxiway B towards runway 07L but then took a premature right turn onto taxiway A, a taxiway parallel to and in between the runway-in-use and taxiway B. With the help of the Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) provided in the Control Tower, ATC observed that the aircraft commenced take-off roll on taxiway A. On detecting the anomaly, ATC immediately instructed the pilot to stop rolling and the aircraft was stopped abeam Taxiway A5, approximately 1400 metres from the beginning (western end) of taxiway A.

The following causal factors were identified:

1. A combination of sudden surge in cockpit workload and the difficulties experienced by both the Captain and the First Officer in stowing the EFB computers at a critical point of taxiing shortly before take-off had distracted their attention from the external environment that resulted in a momentary degradation of situation awareness.
2. The SOP did not provide a sufficiently robust process for the verification of the departure runway before commencement of the take-off roll.
3. The safety defence of having the First Officer and the Relief Pilot to support and monitor the Captain’s taxiing was not sufficiently effective as the Captain was the only person in the cockpit trained for ground taxi.

Hong Kong CAD issues preliminary report on A340 attempted taxiway takeoff

Chart of runway 07L and taxiway A at Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department released a preliminary investigation report into the serious incident involving an Airbus A340 that attempted to take off from a taxiway.

The serious incident occurred on November 27, 2010. The incident flight involved a Finnair Airbus A340-313X which operated on flight AY070 from Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok International Airport (HKG/VHHH) to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (HEL/EFHK).

The incident occurred at night time and in good visibility conditions. Flight 070 was cleared by ATC to taxi on taxiway B westbound for departure on runway 07L. When the aircraft was approaching the western end of taxiway B, ATC cleared the aircraft for take-off on runway 07L. The aircraft took the normal right turn at the end of taxiway B towards runway 07L but then took a premature right turn onto taxiway A, a taxiway parallel to and in between the runway-in-use and taxiway B. With the help of the Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) provided in the Control Tower, ATC observed that the aircraft commenced take-off roll on taxiway A. On detecting the anomaly, ATC immediately instructed the pilot to stop rolling and the aircraft was stopped abeam Taxiway A5, approximately 1400 metres from the beginning (western end) of taxiway A.

Whilst the investigation is still in progress, the Investigation Team considered it prudent to institute a temporary ATC procedure to minimize the possibility of recurrence. In this connection, Hong Kong ATC, as an extra precautionary safeguard, issued an Operational Instruction on 29 November 2010, which required that during runway 07L operations, the Air Movements Controller shall withhold the take-off clearance until ascertaining that the aircraft has completely crossed taxiway A.

 

Serious incident: Finnair A340 attempts takeoff from Hong Kong taxiway

The  Accident Investigation Division of the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department, HKCAD has launched an investigation into a serious incident in which an A340 attempted to takeoff from a taxiway.

The incident happened on November 26, 2010  as Finnair Flight 70 was cleared to takeoff at Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok International Airport.  The tower controller noted that the flight was starting the takeoff roll from the parallel taxiway and instructed the crew to abort the takeoff.

There were no injuries or damage. The airplane involved in the incident was Airbus A340-313X registered OH-LQD.

The occurrence was classified as a serious incident as is under investigation by the  Accident Investigation Division of the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department, HKCAD.