Incident Overview
On 17 February 2020, a Tecnam P2002 aircraft, registration SP-WIX, was performing a training flight near EPLS airport. The student pilot, a Turkish national holding a PPL(A) license, was building flight time towards a CPL. The flight plan had been filed as a training mission.
Sequence of Events
After departing the ATZ of EPLS airport, the pilot did not switch radio frequency to FIS Poznan as required. The flight continued without any radio communication. During this period, the aircraft entered active Military Restricted Areas (MRTs). The intrusion caused operations at EPKS airport to be halted for approximately 20 minutes. Multiple attempts by air traffic services to establish radio contact with SP-WIX were unsuccessful. Eventually, another aircraft managed to contact SP-WIX using the EPLS airport frequency. The pilot then established communication with FIS Poznan and vacated the active MRTs. Subsequently, the pilot was directed to EPPO airport, where the aircraft landed without further incident.
Findings
The Polish State Commission on Aircraft Accident Investigation determined the cause of the incident to be the pilot's failure to establish communication with FIS Poznan, resulting in a flight through active MRTs. A contributing factor was the pilot's improper analysis of the navigational situation in the area of the flight. No recommendations were formulated by the commission.