Preliminary findings indicate that an Iranian-operated British Aerospace Avro RJ100 crew was twice warned before landing on an under-construction runway at Grozny.
The Mahan Air aircraft, operating flight W55116, had been inbound from Tehran on 14 October last year.
It was cleared for the PINTA 1P arrival pattern to runway 08 using area navigation.
“During the approach the controller twice warned the crew about a runway under construction located north of the operational runway,” says federal air transport regulator Rosaviatsia, in a bulletin on safety performance in its southern district.
The new runway – displaced both to the north and west – runs parallel to the old, with their centerlines about 180m apart.
“There was no confirmation of the information received by the crew,” says Rosaviatsia. “After switching to [visual approach], the crew landed on part of the runway under construction.”
It states that the jet (EP-MON) stopped within a 1,600m concrete section, with “no risk” of overrun or collision with objects on the ground.
Rosaviatsia says the crew’s erroneous action was influenced by “lack of interaction” between the construction contractor and airport services, leading to “non-compliance” with regulations about markings on closed runways.
The investigation has yet to be completed.
NOTAM information issued by Grozny airport at the end of last year notifies pilots of the new runway work, and refers to equipment as well as white signs prohibiting landing.
