A fire truck entered the runway and collided with the LATAM A320 NEO on take off.

Two firefighters killed, one injured.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1593724438314459141

From The Aviation Herald:

" A LATAM Chile Airbus A320-200N, registration CC-BHB performing flight LA-2213 from Lima to Juliaca (Peru) with 102 passengers and 6 crew, was accelerating for takeoff from Lima's runway 16 at about 15:11L (20:11Z) when multiple fire trucks with flashing lights and sirenes sounding crossed the runway in front of the accelerating aircraft. The crew rejected takeoff at high speed (at about 125 knots over ground) but wasn't able to avoid contact with fire truck #3 although the truck tried to turn around turning right (into direction of the aircraft). The right main gear collapsed causing the aircraft to veer right towards the right hand runway edge coming to a stop partially off the runway about 2500 meters/8300 feet down the runway. A fire erupted around the right hand engine (PW1127G), all occupants were able to evacuate the aircraft. 4 passengers received serious and 36 passengers received minor injuries. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, the fire truck was destroyed. Two fire fighters on board of the truck involved in the collision did not survive, a third fire fighter on the truck involved received serious injuries.

The airline reported all occupants of the aircraft survived the accident. There were 102 passengers and 6 crew on board.

Lima's Airport Authority reported all passengers were "doing well" and are receiving the attention of their teams. According to recordings the fire truck(s) entered the runway without clearance. The fire trucks had been responding to another aircraft that had suffered mechanical problems.

Medical Services reported 102 passengers and 6 crew were evacuated from the aircraft, 24 passengers were taken to hospitals with injuries. The numbers were later updated stating 4 passengers received serious and 36 passengers minor injuries.

The head of the fire fighters at Lima Airport reported that two fire fighters persished in the accident, a third was taken to a hospital with serious injuries and is in the Intensive Care Unit in stable condition. Later the head of the firefighters added, the surviving fire fighter was diagnosed with a fracture as the base of his skull, severe head trauma including bruises of the brain stem and facial trauma, the vital functions are stable, the neurological compromise can only be assessed at a later time. The next 24 hours will be crucial.

An ATC report states in writing that the rescue vehicle entered runway 16 from the west at the height of taxiway B without authorization and collided with flight LA-2213. Emergency procedures were invoked and rescue vehicles cleared onto the runway to deal with the accident. The runway was NOTAMed closed. "
 

Another video of the accident:

https://www.itemfix.com/v?t=f6okrp

What on Earth was the driver of the lead fire truck doing? Surely they would have been in contact with the tower to get clearance to cross an active runway??

Edited November 19, 20223 yr by Christopher Low

28 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

Surely they would have been in contact with the tower

Surely they SHOULD have been in contact with the tower...

It was reported that they did not request nor receive such a clearance. On the other hand, the tower personnel should have been more aware of the traffic before clearing the aircraft for takeoff.

I wonder what convinced them to go off on a wild joyride across the airport without getting the necessary clearance? It does not make any sense.

10 hours ago, Christopher Low said:

I wonder what convinced them to go off on a wild joyride across the airport without getting the necessary clearance? It does not make any sense.

According to the narrative of the articles, they were responding to a GA aircraft in some sort of distress on the opposite side of the airport.

13 hours ago, n4gix said:

On the other hand, the tower personnel should have been more aware of the traffic before clearing the aircraft for takeoff.

LOL yeah ok. 🙄  So you scan the runway environment and clear someone for take off, in the ensuing 30-60 seconds before they are airborne you may see numerous vehicles approach the runway. Are they going to create an emergency situation and cancel a take off clearance every time a vehicle or aircraft approaches the active?  

1 hour ago, Dave_YVR said:

LOL yeah ok. 🙄  So you scan the runway environment and clear someone for take off, in the ensuing 30-60 seconds before they are airborne you may see numerous vehicles approach the runway. Are they going to create an emergency situation and cancel a take off clearance every time a vehicle or aircraft approaches the active?  

No, but it takes more than 60 seconds for emergency vehicles to be dispatched once an emergency call comes in. Tower should have known the location of the original call in relation to the firehall and should have known that the emergency vehicles would need to cross the active and held traffic accordingly. Tragic accident.

14 minutes ago, Garys said:

Tower should have known the location of the original call in relation to the firehall and should have known that the emergency vehicles would need to cross the active and held traffic accordingly.

 Not always, it varies from airport to airport but often they respond and are well on their way before Ground knows where they are trying to get to. It is very tragic, but there are usually a multitude of systems in place to mitigate runway incursions.

Edited November 20, 20223 yr by Dave_YVR

2 hours ago, Dave_YVR said:

 Not always, it varies from airport to airport but often they respond and are well on their way before Ground knows where they are trying to get to. It is very tragic, but there are usually a multitude of systems in place to mitigate runway incursions.

However ground doesn't give takeoff and landing clearances.  As I mentioned earlier Its takes more than 60 seconds to dispatch a full fire crew so regardless of the frequency that the original call came in on ATC had the time to communicate and bring all active runway movements to a halt. You dont need to create an emergency situation and cancel a take off clearance every time a vehicle or aircraft approaches the active but this accident doesnt just lay solely at the feet of the fire crew and definately not worthy of a LOL.

Edited November 20, 20223 yr by Garys

1 hour ago, Garys said:

However ground doesn't give takeoff and landing clearances.  As I mentioned earlier Its takes more than 60 seconds to dispatch a full fire crew so regardless of the frequency that the original call came in on ATC had the time to communicate and bring all active runway movements to a halt. You dont need to create an emergency situation and cancel a take off clearance every time a vehicle or aircraft approaches the active but this accident doesnt just lay solely at the feet of the fire crew and definately not worthy of a LOL.

That is the critical part for me. All arrivals and departures should be stopped if fire trucks have been instructed to respond to an incident on the field. They do not have time to wait for an airliner to depart when there is an emergency.

EDIT: I would also like to apologise for my initial critical comments directed at the driver of the lead fire truck. I was not aware that they were responding to an emergency with another aircraft. That being the case, it was (IMO) the responsibility of ATC to clear the way for the fire trucks to reach their destination without having to worry about any aircraft movements.

Edited November 20, 20223 yr by Christopher Low

 

14 hours ago, Garys said:

However ground doesn't give takeoff and landing clearances.  As I mentioned earlier Its takes more than 60 seconds to dispatch a full fire crew so regardless of the frequency that the original call came in on ATC had the time to communicate and bring all active runway movements to a halt.

But it's ground that the trucks would most likely be talking to until nearing an active runway, maybe even while crossing an active runway. It all depends on airport specific procedures. 

13 hours ago, Christopher Low said:

All arrivals and departures should be stopped if fire trucks have been instructed to respond to an incident on the field. They do not have time to wait for an airliner to depart when there is an emergency.

 It can often take 4-6 or more minutes to get from point A to B on an airport. Stopping everything from moving is very excessive. I see our local CFR responding to emergency calls sometimes 2-3 times a day and most often the only call ATC gets is to let us know where they are responding to. 

 As it turns out, the trucks in this tragedy weren't responding to an actual emergency, it was a training exercise. 

From The Aviation Herald:

"On Nov 21st 2022 Peru's Ministry of Transport and Communication in its role as Civil Aviation Authority stated, that the communique by LAP was essentially correct, however, this communication and coordination did not mean that the trucks had been cleared to enter the active runway. The exercise is authorized, but this does not mean that using this exercise there is anyone cleared to enter the runway, in particular if there is an aircraft moving on the runway. At this time there is no comment available, whether the trucks were cleared to enter the runway or not. However, the ministry 
confirmed the LATAM aircraft was cleared for takeoff."

"On Nov 21st 2022 CORPAC, Air Traffic Control, stated categorically, that no vehicle had been cleared to enter the runway. CORPAC confirmed there was coordination for an exercise to be carried out by rescue services, however, this did not affect the runway and was to be held outside the runway strip."

" The airline reported that they do not know what the fire truck had to do on the runway and why it was there.  They had no information about an emergency drill. In any case the normal procedure would be that any vehicle  needing access to the runway would need to communicate with tower and obtain clearance to enter the runway. Their aircraft was cleared for takeoff."

Request clearance to cross the runway in an emergency? This may have only been a drill, but you cannot wait for clearance to proceed in a situation like that. You need to get there ASAP! This is why I stated that all active movements should be stopped in an emergency (drill or real) until the fire trucks have reached their destination.

Edited November 21, 20223 yr by Christopher Low