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| Date: | Saturday 16 September 2000 |
| Time: | 07:16 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-412 |
| Owner/operator: | Singapore Airlines |
| Registration: | 9V-SPF |
| MSN: | 27071/1072 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1995 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Manchester International Airport (MAN/EGCC) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport (AMS/EHAM) |
| Manchester International Airport (MAN/EGCC) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
At 0711 hrs a BAC One Eleven outbound from Manchester to Bergamo, Italy, was cleared by the
Manchester tower controller to taxy to the holding point for Runway 24R. At 0713 hrs the
controller cleared the aircraft to line up after a landing Airbus A320. Following this aircraft on the
ILS approach to Runway 24R was a Boeing 747 inbound from Amsterdam. After checking in on
the tower frequency the B747 crew had informed the tower controller that 'WE'RE HEAVY AND
WE'LL BE USING THE WHOLE RUNWAY'.
After landing the A320 was slow to vacate the runway and so the controller instructed the crew to
'EXPEDITE TO THE RIGHT AND CONTACT GROUND 121.85'. He also transmitted to the crew of the
One Eleven to be 'READY WHEN CLEARED'. The crew of the A320 did not clear the runway in the
time expected by the controller and so, although he had instructed the crew to change to the ground
frequency he transmitted '..... COULD YOU EXPEDITE THE RAPID EXIT'. The A320 crew, who were
fortunately still on the tower frequency, were able to confirm that they would.
As the A320 vacated the runway at the second rapid exit turnoff (RET) the controller cleared One
Eleven, which by now was lined up, for take off. The commander of the One Eleven was aware of
the heavy B747 on finals and commenced his take off roll immediately. At this time the inbound
B747 was at approximately 1 mile from touchdown and the controller asked the B747 commander
if he could see the 'rolling' One Eleven. The B747 commander advised that he could. The controller
reported that 'the One Eleven's acceleration appeared to him to be very slow whilst the approaching
B747 appeared to be surprisingly fast so much so that it would reach the start of the runway whilst
the One Eleven was only some way along it'. At this point the controller issued a 'cleared to land
after the departing' clearance to the B747 as, in his opinion, it seemed somewhat safer than to
instruct an aircraft to 'go-around' with a another aircraft departing at the same time.
Realizing that the situation was 'tight' the controller reported experiencing some distortion in his
perception of time. He reported thinking, that the 'One Eleven' was 'taking an age' to roll down the
runway, while the oncoming B747 was 'surprisingly fast'. This time distortion is not uncommon in
such time dependent situations and often tends to occur when insufficient time has been allocated
to carrying out a predetermined plan. However, even after realising that the situation was becoming
more critical, the controller did not intervene but allowed the continued approach of the B747
which, at the time the 'One Eleven' began its take off roll, was only 0.5 nm from the runway
threshold until any decision was effectively taken out of his hands by the B747 pilot's decision to
go-around.
As the B747 reached the runway threshold markings the commander initiated a go-around from
approximately 50 feet agl transmitting 'ON A GO-AROUND ... AND WE'LL START A RIGHT TURN TO
MISS THE TRAFFIC'. The One Eleven, was some 400 metres ahead of the B747 and had not yet
reached rotate speed when this call was made. The controller replied 'ROGER THAT'S A RIGHT
TURN'. As the B747 began to climb and diverge slightly from the departing One Eleven, which by
now was airborne and climbing slowly, the commander of the B747 transmitted 'TELL US WHAT
YOU ADVISE WE CANNOT SEE THAT TRAFFIC'. The controller replied that the traffic was clear to the
left. The commander of the B747 then remarked 'OK WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW?' The controller
responded by clearing the B747 onto a heading of 330° climbing to 3,500 feet and co-ordinated that
clearance with approach control. The B747 continued under approach control and was given radar
vectors for a further ILS approach. It landed without further incident at 0728 hrs. The One Eleven
turned left at 2 DME in accordance with the SID and changed frequency. It was not until their
return to Manchester that the crew of the One Eleven were told by ATC that the B747 had come
exceptionally close to their aircraft during take off.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/54230219e5274a1314000af1/dft_avsafety_pdf_501280.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/128575 (Photo)
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-May-2025 21:21 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 25-May-2025 21:22 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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