What happened
On October 26, 2015, at Łódź Lublinek Airport (EPLL), construction activities were underway to expand the lighting system on runway 25. The planned work involved using a crane with a boom height of up to 12 meters to place a generator container on a prepared foundation. While notification of the intended works had been sent via email on October 23, the specific operational details for the day of the event were not effectively communicated to the incoming operational staff.
During a shift change at 13:00, the incoming Airport Duty Officer was not informed that a crane would be operating at a height comparable to the established protection plane. Following a report from the Tower Controller regarding an obstacle in the restricted area, the Duty Officer inspected the site. Based on a visual assessment, the officer believed the crane arm did not exceed the protection plane and subsequently issued NOTAM U6070/15, closing the grass runway from 14:03 to 22:00 UTC. However, subsequent review of CCTV footage revealed that the crane arm had reached heights of approximately 18 meters, penetrating the protection plane by roughly 5 meters.
The investigation
The investigation, conducted by the airport management, examined the communication logs, CCTV footage, and the coordination between the construction crew and airport operational services. The investigation reviewed the handover process between duty officers and the use of communication equipment by the construction supervisors, who possessed radios but did not utilize them because the work was being performed outside the maneuvering area.
Findings
- There was a lack of coordination regarding the specific scope of work between the contractor and the operational services prior to the start of operations on that day.
- There was a failure in operational oversight within the restricted area, as outlined in the airport's safety risk analysis for the lighting expansion project.
- A critical failure in the handover process occurred, as information regarding the ongoing works was not exchanged between the outgoing and incoming Airport Duty Officers during the shift change.