What happened
On March 25, 2020, an instructor and a student pilot were conducting a navigation flight as part of a Commercial Pilot License (CPL(A)) training program. The flight originated from Grądy (EPGY) with the intention of flying to Szymany (EPSY) to perform a low-level pass before returning to Grąxy.
While approaching Szymany, the pilot obtained information from the airport services regarding the conditions for the planned low-level pass. Following this, the Piper 28-28R-201, registration SP-TBK, climbed to an altitude of A040. This maneuver resulted in the aircraft entering the EPTS02B airspace zone, which was active between A035 and FL415.
At the time of the altitude increase, the pilot was maintaining communication with the Szymany airport services rather than Flight Information Service (FIS) units. Consequently, the FIS personnel were unable to notify the pilot of the airspace violation directly. Once the FIS alerted the Szymany airport services, the information was relayed to the pilot, who immediately descended to A030. The flight continued as planned, and the aircraft returned safely to Grądy.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the unauthorized entry into the EPTS02B zone and the communication gap between the FIS and the flight crew during the approach to Szymany.