What happened
On February 10, 2015, an incident occurred at Warsaw Chopin Airport (EPWA) involving the airport's navigational lighting systems. According to reports from the air traffic control tower (TWR EPWA), an error was identified in the lighting control configuration for the taxiway centerline lighting on taxiway "N1". Specifically, when the landing lighting configuration for runway 11 was activated, the system failed to include the activation of the centerline lights for taxiway N1.
The investigation
The PKBWL investigation focused on the automated systems responsible for managing airport ground lighting. The investigation established that the discrepancy between the intended lighting pattern and the actual lighting state was not due to manual operator error, but rather a failure in the underlying control logic.
Findings
- The investigation identified a software error within the airport's navigational lighting control system as the primary cause of the incident.
- The error resulted in the failure of the N1 taxiway centerline lights to activate during the specific landing configuration for runway 11.