History of the Flight
On 16 March 2018, an Airbus A-330-200, registration C-GTSI, operating as flight TVP7617 on a wet lease for Smartwings, was on a flight from VTSG (Krabi International Airport) to EPWA (Warsaw Chopin Airport). While approaching the LIMVI waypoint, the first standard terminal arrival route waypoint en route to EPWA, air traffic control instructed the crew to reduce speed to the minimum clean configuration due to snow removal operations on the runway at EPWA. The flight crew requested coordination of a shorter approach route because of minimum fuel. ATC asked the crew several times about their endurance, but they did not respond. When asked to confirm a declaration of emergency, the crew denied but stated that such a situation would occur if not cleared to approach and land soon. The crew did not reply to ATC queries about the current fuel quantity. The aircraft landed uneventfully at 15:53 UTC.
Investigation
The State Commission on Aircraft Accidents Investigation (PKBWL) was informed on 19 March 2018 about the incident that occurred on 16 March. The investigation team was led by Investigator-in-Charge Bogusław Trela, with team members Jakub Cichocki and Grzegorz Pietraszkiewicz. Accredited representatives from BEA (France) and TSB (Canada) participated. The investigation concluded with a final report on 29 December 2022. No safety recommendations were proposed.
Findings
The investigation found no injuries to persons and no damage to the aircraft or other property. The aircraft was operated by Air Transat and wet leased to Smartwings. The flight departed with the minimum fuel required. Weather conditions along the route changed, increasing fuel consumption, and conditions at the destination required a delay in landing.
Causes
PKBWL determined the following causes of the incident and contributing factors: the delay of departure by 2 hours 50 minutes; take-off with minimum fuel; changes in weather along the route and at the destination; the crew's lack of response to ATC about endurance and imprecise responses; the time difference of 6 hours and long flight time of more than 10 hours; possible fatigue in the last phase of the flight; time pressure due to low fuel reserve; and the crew's willingness to land at the destination to avoid diverting to an alternate aerodrome.