What happened
On July 21, 2015, at 10:01 local time, a power failure occurred at Bydgoszcz Airport (EPBY) during the takeoff roll of a MiG-29. The outage resulted in the loss of the runway centerline lights (DS. DK), approach lights for runway 08, and the Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) for runway 08. During the period of the electrical failure, two other aircraft successfully completed landings at the airport. The power supply was restored at 10:17 local time.
The investigation
The investigation established that the incident was caused by a loss of power across two low-voltage (NN) sections of substation 8a. This failure was accompanied by the shutdown of the backup generator sets intended to protect these specific sections. The investigation examined the electrical infrastructure and identified that the generators failed to engage as required.
Findings
- The direct cause of the incident was the loss of power to two low-voltage sections of substation 8a and the subsequent failure of the backup generators to maintain supply.
- The probable cause for the generator shutdown was identified as extremely brief voltage fluctuations or switching transients occurring on the high-voltage (SN) side of the network.