Incident Overview
On 7 June 2015, the crew of an Airbus A321 was conducting a flight from Berlin Schönefeld Airport (EDDB) to Hurghada (HEGN). The incident occurred within the Warsaw FIR, involving restricted area EP TSA 07.
Timeline of Events
At 11:40:30, the A321 reported crossing FL150 while climbing to FL270 on the frequency of sector "D" of ACC GAT area control. The aircraft was identified and received an unrestricted climb clearance to FL330.
At 11:41:15, the planned route of the A321, which passed through EP TSA 07, was displayed on the radar screen of the ACC GAT controller.
At 11:44:40, a yellow warning alert "ZN" appeared on the radar display.
At 11:45:20, the ACC GAT sector "D" controller instructed the A321 crew to turn left by 20 degrees.
At 11:45:55, the A321 crew received an instruction to turn to a heading of 060 degrees. The crew asked for the reason.
At 11:46:55, a red warning alert "ZN" appeared on the radar display. The A321 had violated the boundary of zone EP TSA 07.
At 11:48:00, the warning alert "ZN" disappeared from the radar display.
At 11:48:50, the A321 crossed FL250. The crew received clearance to proceed direct to point KELEL.
ATC and Aircraft Information
Only one aircraft was involved. The air traffic controller on duty held an ACS rating (received 7 May 2012) and had current medicals and all required endorsements. He had completed a refresher course on 7–10 April 2015. This was his first shift after three days off.
The number of open area control sectors in FIR Warsaw was appropriate; traffic density was at the upper limit.
Zone EP TSA 07 was active up to FL245.
The A321 crew, after reporting on FL150, received unrestricted climb to FL330 about six minutes before the TSA 07 boundary.
The planned route of the A321, which violated EP TSA 07, was displayed twice on the radar screen, and the aircraft's vertical speed remained consistently around 1000 ft/min.
The instruction to turn was issued approximately 40 seconds after the yellow "ZN" warning appeared.
Investigation Findings
The investigation determined two causes: 1. Issuance of an unrestricted climb clearance. 2. Delayed reaction to the radar warning.
No safety recommendations were formulated.
Conclusion
The incident involved a single Airbus A321 and resulted in an airspace infringement due to ATC clearance and monitoring issues.