Air India Express flight crew's lapse probably led to runway incursion at Goa airport in April this year:

Air India Express flight AXB 1109 was involved in a runway incursion at Goa’s Dabolim airport in April, according to the final report from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). The incident occurred as a Navy fighter jet was taking off, with 171 people on board the Air India Express aircraft and no injuries reported.

The AAIB determined that the probable causes included the flight crew’s failure to follow air traffic control instructions and misinterpretation of radio communications. Specifically, the crew did not hold at the designated point or establish positive contact with Navy ATC before entering the active runway, and a misread of the controller’s “Expect back track” instruction contributed to the lapse.

Dabolim airport’s operational setup involves INS HANSA providing tower and approach control for civil traffic, with a Surface Movement Control (SMC) controller from the Airports Authority of India. The AAIB described the taxiway configuration near Bay 1 and Bay 2 of the civil apron as a potential hotspot due to the risk of ground collisions and runway incursions.

Among the findings, the report highlighted human factors, including a trainee Pilot Monitoring who relied too heavily on the instructor and became preoccupied with runway calculations, reducing effective radio monitoring and vigilance for unauthorised runway entry. The AAIB also noted readback and hear-back inconsistencies that could have been prevented with clearer communication.

The AAIB’s recommendations include issuing crew-centric circulars to Air India Express, mandating counseling and training for the involved crew, and emphasizing standard radiotelephony phraseology for ATCs. It also urged closer coordination between DGCA, AAIB, and defence authorities, and suggested procedural changes for civil traffic transitioning frequencies at INS HANSA to reduce miscommunication.

Following the incident, authorities from Naval and AAI revised handover and takeover procedures. The new process requires the SMC controller to coordinate directly with Navy ATC during watch handovers, with specific confirmation of briefing elements such as Runway in use and change-over frequency.