Reading about the driverless van incident at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport reminds me of how much we can learn from each other’s mistakes and, hopefully, keep from making them ourselves. According to Canadian news reports, the incident involved an unattended van that was left running and in gear. That driverless van started rolling and managed to roll across an active runway just as an Air Canada flight was landing.
Much of the news focused on why the Air Canada flight didn’t abort its landing after allegedly being ordered to do so more than once by air traffic controllers.
But for ramp operators, the more important question is, of course, why was that van left running in gear without a driver? Normal precautions would call for shutting off the engine, putting the van in park and setting the emergency brake.
While the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (the country's equivalent to our NTSB) investigates, it might be an opportune time for GSE operators to review their own driver training course – especially refresher training – to ensure this can’t happen to them.
While the damage was described as “minor” - the van’s mirror apparently grazed the engine of the landing 737 – when you add up all the costs – including the costs of inspecting the damage and investigating the incident – the ultimate costs are likely to be far from minor.
