What happened
On February 6, 2016, at approximately 12:22 UTC, a Tecnam P2002-JF operated by Smart Aviation sp. z o.o. departed from runway DS28 at the EPPO airport. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported an urgent need to land immediately and was cleared to land on runway DS10. The aircraft completed its landing at 12:23 UTC.
The emergency return was necessitated by the pilot's discovery that the fuel tank filler cap had been lost during the takeoff roll or initial climb. Following the landing, the fuel cap was located by airport personnel approximately 100 meters from the threshold of runway DS28. The incident resulted in an 8-minute delay for a subsequent aircraft scheduled for takeoff on runway R.
The investigation
The investigation, conducted by the operator, focused on the circumstances surrounding the loss of the fuel cap and the sequence of events leading to the emergency landing. The inquiry examined the refueling procedures and the pre-flight inspection protocols followed by the crew prior to departure.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was an improperly performed refueling operation.
- A secondary contributing factor was a negligent or incomplete pre-flight inspection of the aircraft.