Incident Overview
On 16 July 2016, a Cessna 152 operated by a 23-year-old male pilot with a private pilot license and 82 hours total on type experienced an incident involving unauthorized entry into controlled airspace. The occurrence took place around 16:50 UTC in the vicinity of Katowice CTR (EPKT) and Kraków LTMA (EPKK). The incident caused a delay of approximately five minutes for an incoming Airbus A320 (flight WZZ8BH).
Flight Details
The pilot departed from Mielec Airport (EPML) on a training cross-country flight. The planned route included a transit through Katowice CTR. After reaching the exit point (point W) from CTR EPKT, the pilot acknowledged handover to FIS Kraków and was cleared to proceed on a heading of approximately 85° outside the CTR. However, the pilot allowed a lateral deviation from the intended track and did not correct it. Radar data showed the aircraft turned to a heading of about 110°, re-entered the controlled airspace, and climbed to 2,300 feet (previously maintaining 2,000 feet as cleared within the CTR). The aircraft did not establish communication with FIS; attempts to contact it on the TWR frequency and on 121.500 MHz were unsuccessful. After some time, the pilot corrected the course and exited the CTR at 17:00 UTC, but still infringed upon the Kraków LTMA.
Causes
The investigation identified two primary causes: 1. The pilot did not maintain the proper course after departure from point W, leading to a lateral deviation that resulted in re-entry into Katowice CTR. 2. The pilot maintained an excessive altitude on the segment from Whiskey to Jędrzejów, which caused a violation of the Kraków LTMA.
Contributing Factors
Several factors contributed to the incident:
- The wind was from the north.
- The pilot had limited experience in navigation flights.
- A temporary radio failure occurred due to overheating; after cooling, the radio resumed normal operation.
Aftermath
The aircraft operator discussed the event with the training center's instructor staff. As a preventive measure, additional attention will be given to low-experience licensed pilots planning cross-country flights: avoiding route segments that run close to or parallel to airspace boundaries, and ensuring extra vertical separation when flying below the lower limit of LTMA. The incident also accelerated the planned replacement of the aircraft's radio with a newer model. The investigation committee did not issue any safety recommendations.