Shocking Runway Shift: The Alarming Near Misses at an Australian Airport You Need to Know About

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Two international airliners carrying hundreds of people narrowly averted disaster when they overshot a runway and took off just metres above airport workers.

Both aircraft flew so close to an active Melbourne airport site that jet blast affected the area, a report says, resulting in a stress-related injury to a worker.

Their flight crews were unaware the runway had been shortened by more than 1.5km for night resurfacing works, resulting in two near misses within a fortnight.

A Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-300 encountered a close call on September 7, 2023, when it overran a runway that had been shortened to approximately 2 kilometers. During takeoff, the aircraft soared just seven meters above an ongoing airport worksite.

Eleven days later, a Bamboo Airways Boeing 787-9 overshot the same strip and took off less than five metres above the night works’ vehicles and personnel.

At the time of the incident, each of the planes involved was carrying over 200 passengers. The narrow escape highlighted the potential for serious consequences, yet fortunately, no collision occurred. “It was sheer luck that we avoided an impact,” remarked an official familiar with the situation.

The investigation revealed that the flight crews did not verify the reduced runway length with air traffic control, who in turn did not question the crews about this critical oversight. This communication breakdown underscored the importance of rigorous safety protocols.

No one was injured, but a worker reported that the first near-miss caused their vehicle to shake violently.

The second incident resulted in one stress-related injury, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report says.

“These were serious incidents,” the bureau’s chief commissioner Angus Mitchell told reporters on Tuesday.

“In both cases, we had a fully loaded and fuelled aircraft with over 200 personnel on board coming within metres of fixed equipment on the ground and with works equipment.

In response to the incident, authorities have undertaken a comprehensive investigation, emphasizing the need for stringent safety recommendations. The goal is to prevent similar occurrences, particularly in Australia, where such lapses in procedure could have dire consequences.

‘Workload and time pressures’

All crews had been notified about the reduced runway through flight notices and the airport’s information service radio broadcasts.

However, crews on the two international airliners involved in the near misses had not identified the information due to “expectations, workload and time pressures”.

They consequently used standard take-off performance calculations, with reduced engine thrust causing them to overshoot.

The flight crews also failed to confirm the shortened runway with air traffic control, which in turn failed to challenge them.

Dispatchers, who brief flight crews, had noted the reduced runway but did not emphasise it because it affected the take-off thrust required, which is the pilot’s responsibility.

“To those workers on the ground it was a terrifying experience,” Mitchell said.

“That’s why we’ve been so detailed in the investigation, but also in our safety recommendations to ensure that this type of thing does not occur, particularly in Australia, again.”

What happens next?

Both airlines have updated their procedures to ensure that changes to runway distances are directly communicated to flight crews.

Airservices Australia — in consultation with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority — is reviewing its air traffic control procedures as a result of the near misses.

The ATSB has recommended the International Civil Aviation Organization review air traffic control communication procedures to crews on “safety-critical” aerodrome conditions.

The international body has already committed to introducing additional highly visible signage to alert crews of runway changes.