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Earlier this week, a near-miss incident occurred at Wakkanai Airport in Japan involving an ANA Wings Dash 8 turboprop and an airport vehicle. The aircraft, operating as All Nippon Airways flight NH4841 from New Chitose Airport to Wakkanai, was landing when it encountered a bird control vehicle on the runway. The vehicle was performing routine bird control work and managed to exit the runway before the plane touched down, preventing a collision.
The incident happened after the pilots changed their approach and runway choice due to stormy cumulonimbus clouds. This last-minute change was reportedly not communicated to local air traffic controllers, resulting in the aircraft landing on a runway that had just been vacated by the airport vehicle. Seventy-four people were onboard the turboprop at the time.
ANA issued a statement regarding the event: "We have received a report from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) stating that a bird control vehicle was operating on the Wakkanai Airport runway when the aircraft entered its final approach. The aircraft may have landed while the vehicle was in the process of evacuating the runway."
