Vehicle Crosses the Stop Bar
Tower at a single-runway airport, runway 12/30. A follow-me vehicle has been cleared to 'hold short of runway 12 at intersection B'. The surface movement radar shows the vehicle crossing the stop bar and entering the runway. A B738 is 2 NM final, already cleared to land, and a departure is holding at intersection A. The controller has just turned away to make a coordination call. RVR is 1,500 m and wind is 120/10. There is no second tower controller on duty.
1. What are your immediate actions and phraseology?
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Priority is to stop the conflict, not to preserve the landing sequence. Cancel the B738's landing clearance and instruct: 'B738, go around, I say again, go around, vehicle on the runway.' Simultaneously transmit to the vehicle: 'Follow-me at B, stop immediately, I say again, stop immediately.' Use unambiguous, directed phraseology rather than a general call. Hold the departure at A. Once the vehicle is confirmed clear of the runway and the B738 is established on the missed approach, resume normal operations. Do not issue a new landing clearance until the runway is physically verified clear.
2. How do you manage the go-around and the departure while the vehicle is still on the runway?
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Give the B738 missed-approach instructions and a safe altitude, and keep it clear of the departure's departure path. The departure remains holding because the runway is not clear; a take-off clearance would create a second conflict. If the vehicle cannot vacate immediately, continue to protect the runway and consider whether the departure should be held at the holding point or moved only with a clear routing. The controller must not rely solely on the surface radar; a visual check or a confirmed report from the vehicle or an airside officer is needed before declaring the runway clear.
3. What follow-up reporting and investigation actions are required?
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This is a runway incursion and must be reported through the airport's safety management system and to the GCAA in accordance with the applicable occurrence-reporting requirements. Notify the supervisor and duty manager, preserve surface-radar recordings, voice tapes and vehicle logs, and obtain statements while memory is fresh. The investigation should examine why the vehicle crossed the stop bar after a hold-short clearance, whether the clearance was read back, whether the controller's attention was diverted by coordination, and whether single-controller manning was appropriate. The aim is corrective action, not blame, consistent with a just-culture approach.