Incident Details
On 11 December 2014, two F-16 military aircraft were conducting a final approach to runway 28 (RWY 28) at EPLK airfield. During the approach, the pilots received a message from the APP EPLK air traffic controller, who reported observing on the radar indicator the presence of another aircraft on the southern side of the extended centerline of the runway, at a distance of approximately 13 NM. The F-16 pilots determined that the other traffic did not pose a threat to them and continued their approach, subsequently landing on RWY 28.
The pilot of a Tecnam P2002JF aircraft, after establishing radio communication with TWR EPLK, confirmed that he had violated the MATZ airspace.
Cause
The cause of the aviation incident was determined to be pilot inattention caused by fatigue.
Preventive Actions
The training manager was instructed to remind pilots during the next meeting about the necessity of proper rest before conducting flights. Additionally, a change was implemented in the computer database that records flights to inform pilots of their current flight time on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis.
No safety recommendations were formulated after the investigation.