Plane comes off Bristol Airport runway after landing

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

Not good for those trying to get away for Christmas via Bristol Airport:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-42457193

A plane carrying 25 people came off the runway after landing, forcing the suspension of flights in and out of Bristol Airport.
The Embraer 145 aircraft, from Frankfurt, left the runway as it taxied to the terminal just after 11:30 GMT.
"No-one was hurt and passengers were disembarked and returned to the terminal by coach," a spokesman said.
It is understood 21 arriving flights and 19 departures have been cancelled or diverted to other airports.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB^▸ (Air Accident Investigation Branch)) confirmed it was sending a team to Bristol Airport.
Passengers on EasyJet flights to Inverness, Prague, Belfast and Geneva were told to collect their bags and make alternative flight arrangements "from home".

Continues...

[JayMac]

The headlines across almost all media are a little misleading and sensationalist, suggesting this was a landing incident. It appears to have actually been a relatively minor taxiing incident.

The disruption is far more major than the incident itself.

[Timmer]

The headlines across almost all media are a little misleading and sensationalist, suggesting this was a landing incident. It appears to have actually been a relatively minor taxiing incident.

The disruption is far more major than the incident itself.

Exactly, couldn’t agree more.

[Timmer]

Latest is 19.00 at the earliest to reopen the runway. Really feel for those stuck there.

[Timmer]

Latest is 19.00 at the earliest to reopen the runway. Really feel for those stuck there.

Sadly now 21.00 at the earliest.

[TonyK]

The incident could hardly have happened at a worse time, coming as it did at one of the busiest times of the year at Bristol Airport. Twitter and the Post re full of the predictable questions - likehhow long does it take to move an aircraft from the side of the runway?

If only it were that simple! The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB^▸ (Air Accident Investigation Branch)) are sending a team to start an investigation, as confirmed on their page on GOV.UK^▸ (United Kingdom). They will want to examine the runway or taxyway and the aircraft in situ before handing over to whoever gets to lift some 15 tonnes of very expensive machinery off the grass, and tow it back to the terminal. The AAIB will want to get an idea of why such a routine manoeuvre went wrong, and will look for signs of equipment failure. Then the runway and taxyway will be examined in case there's a part of the Embraer lying out there waiting to puncture a tyre.

The accident happened at 1136. The latest estimate for reopening is 2100.

[grahame]

Reminds me of a holiday away with the children (7 and 12 at the time) so about 25 years ago ... due to fly out of Heathrow with one of the major  carriers to Los Angeles. Plan there was for the three of us to ski for a week; my first time, Kim's first time, Chris had been once with school.  Then for a second week my (then) wife and three grandparents were joining us for Christmas with cousins in LA.

Chaos at Heathrow; incoming plane diverted to Belfast due to weather.  Flights cancelled - "please queue on arrivals floor to rebook" and the queue ran the whole length of the terminal.  Kids are robust travellers / we used our heads / declined the initial offer of "they're cheap flights - next available flight at that price is after Christmas" and got out only a day late ... but really feel for those people at Bristol.   Mind you - a growing experience for the children ... just 24 hours later we we driving up through Lone Pine, Aberdeen and Bishop to Mammoth Lakes.  And because we had to be a day short there, we didn't burn the ski bug out ... gosh I could do that  again!

[TonyK]

There's a BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) interview with airport development officer Nigel Scott. That confirms that everything had to wait for the AAIB^▸ (Air Accident Investigation Branch) to arrive. The headline on the webpage talks of an "error" which, if true, will be highly embarrassing for crew and airline.

[Oberon]

There was a time when the aeroplane in question would have been shoved off the runway, clear of landings and takings-off, and the day would have proceeded without further disruption. Not in 2017 though...   

[Timmer]

There was a time when the aeroplane in question would have been shoved off the runway, clear of landings and takings-off, and the day would have proceeded without further disruption. Not in 2017 though...   

Indeed, times have definitely changed.

[TonyK]

There was a time when the aeroplane in question would have been shoved off the runway, clear of landings and takings-off, and the day would have proceeded without further disruption. Not in 2017 though...   

Yes, I remember watching the film "Airport"^*.

The last time something similar happened at Bristol was when an Iberia Airbus A300 (containing King Constantine of Greece and Kevin Keegan amongst others) slid off the end of a rainy runway 27. The runway was closed for 3 days that time. That was some 30 years ago, before Health and Safety was invented.

Modern aircraft are very strong and extremely flimsy at the same time.They can manage some incredible stresses both in the air and on landing (especially), but are designed with each different stress in mind. So the wings can hold tonnes of fuel and lift an aircraft full of people to 7 miles high using some incredible power from engines slung under them, but still have "NO STEP" stencilled on various parts. Start shoving it with a convenient bulldozer and not only do you write off a multi-million pound asset, you also risk covering the area with shards of composite materials, bits of engine, and whatever fuel could not be pumped out of the tanks.

The airport were correct in doing this properly. Not only did they have to wait for the AAIB^▸ (Air Accident Investigation Branch), it seems that specialist equipment had to be brought in. Someone will ask why it wasn't on site, but as this is the first incident in 30 years, I can see why. Aircraft have been known to come off the runway on landing then regain the asphalt - it was a relatively frequent affair in wet weather before Bristol's runway was re-grooved in 2007 - so the circumstances of this case must have made it impossible to move the aircraft safely under its own power, or simply fasten it to a tug. The AAIB report will tell us every detail. In the meantime, I hope all is normal by 13 January.

(^*I have also seen "Airplane", which was funnier, and probably more accurate.)

[chuffed]

Is it me, or has anyone else noticed how the passengers all talk about 'planes, and yet all the professionals refer to 'aircraft?'.

[TonyK]

Good point! I probably got the habit from learning to fly. The books all refer to "aircraft" abbreviated to "A/c", unless a different description is required.
But I am not, and never was, a professional.

[Chris from Nailsea]

'Aircraft leaving runway in an unexpected manner' is done rather more spectacularly elsewhere ... as in Turkey, for example.  From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Turkey plane: Panic as jet skids off runway at Trabzon

Panic broke out on a passenger jet when it skidded off the runway at a Turkish airport and plunged down the side of a cliff overlooking the sea.

The Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 with 168 passengers and crew had flown from Ankara and landed at Trabzon on the Black Sea coast late on Saturday.

Everyone on board was evacuated safely, provincial governor Yucel Yavuz said. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the accident is being investigated, officials said.

State-run Anadolu news agency said there was panic on board as the plane went out of control.

Pictures show the jet lying nose down on a muddy slope just metres from the water's edge.

"We tilted to the side. The front was down while the plane's rear was up. There was panic, people shouting, screaming," passenger Fatma Gordu was quoted as saying.

Mr Yavuz said the airport was closed for several hours while investigations took place.

In a statement Pegasus Airlines said the plane "had a runway excursion incident" as it landed at Trabzon.


It is not yet clear why the plane careered off the runway

 

[stuving]

I've heard of drivers who can't tell left from right. But a pilot who can't tell up from down??