Video has surfaced of a very close call on the single runway of Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (ASU/SGAS) in Paraguay. In the incident, which occurred four or five years ago, workers are patching the runway when the pilot of a Gulfstream business jet decides to land despite the presence of the workers.
It’s difficult to know exactly what is going on here. The truck is flying an airfield safety flag, but does not appear to have its warning lights turned on. Did the biz jet pilots simply not see the truck and the brightly-clad workers? Did the pilot ignore instructions from the tower? Was the runway marked closed but he landed anyway? The workers seem pretty nonchalant about getting out of the way, almost like this is a normal occurrence.
Paraguay’s aviation governing body, Dirección Nacional de Aeronáutica Civil (DINAC), has confirmed the incident, and that it happened some years ago. At this time, there is no official statement about how it happened.