Finnish investigators are probing an incident in which the pilots of a taxiing Finnair aircraft opted not to cross a runway, despite receiving clearance, because they had sighted another aircraft on approach.
Although air traffic control at Helsinki Vantaa had cleared the Finnair Airbus to cross runway 22L, the crew held short after seeing the arriving Bombardier CRJ900, which was being operated for SAS.
The incident occurred at around 08:50 local time on 28 October, according to the Finnish air accident investigation board, which adds that, despite light drizzle, visibility was good.
It points out that, had the weather been poor, the outcome might have been more serious.
Several Finnair aircraft were taxiing at the time and the board has not clarified the service involved, although it says the aircraft was an Airbus A320-family jet.
The board says the Finnair pilots "noticed" the approaching SAS flight and decided not to cross the runway. It has attributed the incident to an air traffic control fault, and is convening a panel to explore the reasons.
Two air traffic controllers, a psychologist and a flight instructor will be among the panel members.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
