The just-implemented European action plan for the prevention of runway incursions (EAPPRI) is a text book for pilots, air traffic controllers and airport operators on how to avoid another accident like the October 2001 runway collision at Milan Linate, Italy. The report on that accident has not yet been published, but the EAPPRI, produced by the high-level European action group for aviation safety (AGAS), draws on lessons learned there.
There were 122 deaths at Linate, 110 in the SAS Boeing MD-87 that was attempting a cleared take-off in poor visibility, four in the Cessna Citation CJ2 that made the runway incursion, and eight people in the cargo centre that the MD-87 hit. The pilot took the wrong taxiway, and subsequent clues in the communications between the CJ2 pilots and the controllers indicating possible misunderstanding were missed by both parties (Flight International, 16-22 October 2001).
For airport operators the main recommendations include the need to follow International Civil Aviation Organisation standards for procedures, signs and taxiway naming, and advice on driver training. Pilot, controller and driver communications should be "in aviation English" with standardised phraseology, and all communications that concern aircraft/vehicles entering or approaching runways should ideally be on a common frequency. Pilots must seek explicit clearance to pass a stop bar or cross a runway. Controllers should, "use progressive taxi instructions to reduce pilot workload and the potential for confusion".
Aeronautical information provision standards are defined, and "significant aerodrome information which may affect operations on or near the runway should be provided to pilots 'real-time' using radios".
Source: Flight International
