Report from the OH&S Canada magazine (Winter 2024)
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says a distracted maintenance worker who drove onto an active runway required an Air Canada plane to scrap an initial landing attempt to avoid a collision at Toronto’s Pearson airport last year (2023).
A new report from the board says the driver of the maintenance vehicle was distracted by “the planning of the upcoming tasks that he would be supervising” at the time of the incident, which took place shortly after midnight on Oct. 15, 2022.
The TSB says that as a result, the driver was paying less attention to hazards on his route and drove onto the runway even though he had received — and read back — instructions not to do so.
According to the report, the air traffic controller saw what happened and told the plane to stop its approach and go back around before trying again.
The report says the plane was able to land “uneventfully” on its second try.
The board says the incident shows “how a lapse in attention by even an experienced airport maintenance vehicle driver can result in a runway incursion.”
My opinion
It does not take too much of a distraction for this type of hazard to have happened. With very little change this could have been a terrible accident.
We all have jobs to do but not at the safety of others.
Please review your company’s policies and procedures and ensure that your employees are always aware that safety should ALWAYS be the overriding priority.
HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety needs. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259.
Ensure your workplace is a safe place.
Remember – In Ontario, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”
‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.
Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Advanced Level
CEO & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.