Narrative:An Embraer EMB-120ER, registered VH-EEB, was taxiing at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, Australia, to take off on a domestic freight charter flight to Melbourne. The aircraft was lined up with the left edge of the runway. Shortly after the take-off roll commenced, the crew reported feeling two or three bumps on the runway, after which time the crew's attention was drawn to an electrical burning smell in the cockpit, followed by a high-speed warning. The smell dispersed and the flight continued as normal to Melbourne.
Pre-flight checks for the return flight to Sydney revealed damage to the aircraft, which was subsequently found to have been caused by impact with the runway edge lighting on the left side of Sydney runway 16R, where the aircraft had started its take-off run. The aircraft was grounded at Melbourne for repair.
Probable Cause:
Contributing safety factors:
- The taxiway B4 left edge marking led onto taxiway B5, instead of runway 16R.
- Neither of the flight crew noticed the aircraft was not aligned with the runway centreline prior to commencing the take-off roll.
- An additional area of tarmac adjacent to the runway between taxiways B4 and B5, combined with reduced visual cues associated with night operations, probably created the impression that the aircraft had proceeded further into the runway than it actually had.
Accident investigation:
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Investigating agency: | ATSB (Australia) |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | 1 year and 5 months | Accident number: | AO-2007-045 | Download report: | Summary report
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Classification:
Takeoff from wrong runway
Runway mishap
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Sydney-Kingsford Smith International Airport, NSW to Melbourne-Tullamarine Airport, VIC as the crow flies is 703 km (440 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.