On 2nd September, a TAP Air Portugal Airbus A320neo collided with a motorbike with two persons while landing at Ahmed Sékou Touré International Airport, Guinea.
The 1 and half-year-old A320-200neo with registration CS-TVI, performing flight TP1492 from Lisbon, Portugal to Conakry, Guinea landed on runway 24 around 23:30 LT but engine #2 (right-hand side) collided with a motorbike occupied by two persons that crossed the runway at that moment.
The aircraft rolled out without further incidents and both occupants of the motorbike were killed.
The Airport issued a press release on Twitter confirming the incident and adding that the identified driver was a security guard, an employee of a company in charge of securing the aircraft fence.
“An investigation conducted by the Guinean Civil Aviation Authority (AGAC) with the support of the SOGEAC Safety and Security Department is ongoing in order to find out the causes and responsibilities of the parties involved.”
“Passengers and crew are all fine. All safety procedures were followed, but even so, it was not possible to avoid the accident. TAP is naturally collaborating with the local authorities to investigate the circumstances that led to this regrettable situation”
TAP Press Release
Both airline and airport expressed their condolences to the families involved.
The returned flight TP1493 to Lisbon was canceled and the aircraft is still on the ground in Conakry almost 24 hours after landing.
Cover photo by NSH Aviation
I’ve been there, landings and takeoffs were very chaotic. Crowds of people on the taxi strips the moment the plane lands, hawkers, family members, and all kinds of unregulated and unscreened people. I am not surprised that this accident occurred.
Of course i’m also sorry for the two lost lives, but i couldn’t agree more with Mikhail!!!
Maybe the bike riders thought they could out run the plane. The fast speed at which large vehicles and planes move when looking at it head-on is deceiving because it’s hard to judge speed from that viewing angle. Same reason why vehicles get hit by moving trains at non-gated (and sometimes gated) railroad crossings because the train seems far away and doesn’t appear to be moving but are right on top of you within seconds. That same optical illusion applies to fast-moving planes coming at you down a runway.
If the motorbike had had a muffler to quiet it down, perhaps they would have heard the jetliner.
Very saddening to imagine two people were sucked alive through than engine. The photos are very descriptive.
What the hell kinda airport lets people onto the runway with no coordination with tower, and they didn’t even look to see the damn plane coming? I feel sorry for them because they paid the price but this is a complete lack of a proper runway environment. Safety policies need a real rethink here.