Incident Overview
On June 28, 2014, a callsign confusion event occurred in the Warsaw Terminal Control Area (TMA) involving two Embraer 170 aircraft operated by the same airline. The incident, classified as an incident by the Polish State Commission for Aircraft Accident Investigation, involved flight numbers 3844 and 3884.
Sequence of Events
Flight 3844 was operating from Wrocław (EPWR) to Warsaw (EPWA), while flight 3884 was en route from Katowice (EPKT) to Warsaw (EPWA). The crew of flight 3844 was instructed by a Warsaw approach controller to contact the approach frequency and subsequently cleared to descend to 4,000 feet. Shortly thereafter, the crew of flight 3884, which was navigating near the LOGODA waypoint while avoiding thunderstorms, mistakenly misinterpreted the callsign instructions, leading to confusion between the two flights.
Probable Cause
The investigation determined that the cause of the incident was a misidentification of callsigns, referred to as "callsign confusion."
Preventive Actions
Following the incident, the operator took two preventive measures: first, it recommended reviewing the possibility of changing flight numbers to reduce similarity; second, it developed a procedure to prevent callsign convergence.
Safety Recommendations
The investigation commission did not issue any safety recommendations.