What happened
On 14 July 2019, an Ikarus C42, registration D-MULZ, was operating a VFR flight from Anklam airfield in Germany to Lech Walesa Airport Gdańsk. The flight proceeded without incident until the aircraft reached the vicinity of Słupsk, at which point the crew began deviating from the planned route toward the destination.
As the aircraft drifted off course, the Flight Information Service (FIS) officer in Gdańsk attempted to assist the crew by providing navigation updates and warnings regarding nearby airspace activity. The officer noted that the crew appeared increasingly lost and struggled to comprehend radio transmissions. To assist, the officer simplified messages and repeated critical information multiple times. During these communications, an additional voice was heard providing prompts to the crew.
Upon reaching the ZULU point for Gdańsk Airport, the aircraft was transferred to the Aerodrome Control Tower. The crew's maneuvers became unpredictable, and communication remained extremely difficult. Due to the uncertainty regarding the crew's intentions, the tower controller requested that an approaching commercial airliner delay its approach until the Ikarus C42 was confirmed to be on a landing trajectory. Despite instructions to follow specific VFR points, the crew failed to adhere to the controller's directions. After several attempts to establish a clear course, the aircraft eventually landed at 16:32 local time. During the final hour of flight, the aircraft twice exceeded the 1,800 ft AMSL altitude limit within the Gdańsk TMA, prompting altitude corrections by the crew.
The investigation
The PKBWL investigation focused on the breakdown in navigation and the inability of the crew to maintain the assigned route and altitude. The investigation examined the radio transcripts between the crew and the FIS/Tower controllers, noting the high volume of English-language transmissions that were not understood by the pilot.