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An aircraft belonging to Blue Air company has overrun the runway at the Avram Iancu Cluj-Napoca International Airport
The prosecutors with the Prosecutor's Office under the Cluj Court of Appeals (CAC) have opened on Thursday a case to investigate the circumstances an aircraft belonging to Blue Air company has overrun the runway at the Avram Iancu Cluj-Napoca International Airport.
According to a release by the General Prosecutor's Office, a prosecutor with the CAC went to the site of the event, alongside police officers with the Cluj Police Inspectorate with a view to investigate on the spot and make procedural necessary decisions.
A aircraft on a charter flight from Bucharest to Barcelona, via Cluj-Napoca, with 116 passengers onboard has made a runway excursion on Thursday morning while attempting to land at Avram Iancu Airport.
According to the airport's representatives, no casualties occurred.
The managing director of the airport, David Ciceo said that the plane has overrun upon touchdown.
"The aircraft suffered no damages, and the passengers were landed in good conditions. A committee with the Aeronautics Authority and the airport will investigate the causes of the incident," said Ciceo.
He also said that the aircraft went some 20 metres off the runway, most likely because of the braking manner.
"At about 8:05, a Blue Air Company aircraft coming from Otopeni and heading for Barcelona, with 116 passengers aboard, exited some 20 metres the runway at its end," David Ciceo added.
Landing adherence to the runway of the Cluj-Napoca airport was not high enough, causing the aircraft to skid some 10 metres off the runway, and the plane captain did not request an emergency landing because of insufficient fuel, Blue Air operator said in a release on Thursday in connection with a minor incident this morning.
According to the airline, "in the final braking phase of landing maneuvers, the aircraft commander noticed that adherence to the runway was not enough to allow the stop within the runway limits, causing a 10-metre runway excursion of the aircraft."
"According to the weather bulletin issued by [Romania's air navigation service provider] Romatsa (based on data provided by representatives of the Cluj airport) at 7:30 hrs, braking action conditions on the landing runway were medium to good, despite existing snow deposits. Under these circumstances, the aircraft operation handbook provides that landing and braking can be safely performed. A new weather bulletin issued subsequently to the landing described the conditions as follows: runway 100 percent covered with wet snow and medium braking conditions. To silence speculation about the fuel on board, we mention that the plane was sufficiently fueled at the time of the landing, as per the regulations in force, and we firmly reject allegations that this would have been an emergency landing caused by the lack of fuel. This statement is reinforced by the fact that at no moment did the commander request an emergency landing," Blue Air said.
As for the 110 passengers traveling from Bucharest, plus the 45 who should have boarded the plane in Cluj, they are all safe. Arrangements were made to transfer the passengers to Sibiu where another Blue Air airplane will take them to Barcelona. They all had meal and drinks ensured for the entire wait time.
The Civil Aviation Safety Investigation and Analysis Centre (CIAS) started an investigation into the incident occurred on Thursday morning on the Cluj-Napoca airport where a Blue Air plane performing a charter flight from Bucharest to Barcelona overran the runway, the airline mentioned.
"The plane performing flight OB-9301 from Bucharest Otopeni to Cluj and further to Barcelona was subject to a minor incident as it overran the runway end some 6 - 10 metres. The plane had 110 passengers and 6 crew on board. All passengers disembarked normally and were transferred to the departures terminal were they receive support from the company and the airport. A CIAS investigation was opened into the incident," said Blue Air.
According to the cited source "landing was performed under difficult weather conditions, with snowfall and snow deposits on the runway, but according to weather bulletins issued by the control tower, they were within the limits admitted for operation, including the braking action coefficient stated by the airport."
A plane performing a charter flight from Bucharest and carrying over 100 passengers went off the runway of the Avram Iancu International Airport of Cluj on Thursday during the landing maneuvers. According to airport representatives, there are no victims and no one was injured.
Avram Iancu International Airport director David Ciceo said that the plane overran the runway.
"The aircraft sustained no damage, and the passengers disembarked safely. A special commission of the Aeronautical Authority and the airport will investigate the causes of the incident," said Ciceo.
He also said that the aircraft went some 20 metres off the runway, but this was not to blame on the weather condition.
"At about 8:05, a Blue Air Company aircraft coming from Otopeni and heading for Barcelona, with 116 passengers aboard, exited some 20 metres the runway at its end," David Ciceo added.
The Avram Iancu International Airport has been temporarily closed, until the aircraft that went off the runway upon landing is brought back on the hardstand.
A number of about 50 passengers who were aboard the Blue Air aircraft that went off the runway of the Cluj-Napoca airport are taken by buses to Sibiu, to board another aircraft bound for Barcelona, Sibiu airport spokesperson Nicoleta Boborodea said.
"About 50 passengers from Cluj are expected to arrive in Sibiu. They will board the plane that will come from Bucharest and depart for Barcelona," Nicoleta Boborodea explained.
According to the information received from the International Airport of Sibiu, the Blue Air aircraft that is going to carry the 50 passengers to Barcelona has already taken off from Bucharest, with around 100 passengers on board and is expected to land in Sibiu at 12:10. This plane is going to depart from Sibiu, after it takes over the passengers coming from Cluj-Napoca.
The airport at Cluj-Napoca has been temporarily closed, until the aircraft that went off the runway upon landing is brought back on the hardstand.