What happened
On 26 November 2022, a Piper PA28, registration SP-SWB, was conducting a flight technique check from Masłów airfield to Mielec airfield (EPML). Simultaneously, a Sikorsky S-70 helicopter, registration SP-YVR, was performing training maneuvers at Mielely, specifically practicing an imitation autorotation landing approach.
As the aircraft approached runway 26L, the S-70 was executing a landing approach with increased descent rates and reduced forward speed. The crew of the Piper PA28 reported they were observing the helicopter, and the Aerodrome Flight Information Service (AFIS) officer explicitly warned the airplane crew to maintain attention due to the helicopter's maneuver. However, as the aircraft progressed toward the fourth turn, the crew of the Piper PA28 lost visual contact with the helicopter. Believing the helicopter was still ahead of them, the airplane crew continued their approach.
During the final straight-in approach, the Piper PA28 actually overtook the Sikorsky S-70. The helicopter crew eventually spotted the airplane below them and aborted their exercise. The airplane crew, focused on completing a fly-by landing to vacate the runway quickly, did not comment on the close proximity. No fatalities or injuries were reported during the incident.
The investigation
The PKBWL examined radio communications between the aircraft crews and the AFIS officer. The investigation established that the airplane crew had acknowledged the AFIS warnings twice, which likely created a false sense of security for both the AFIS officer and the helicopter crew, leading them to assume the airplane crew was maintaining proper separation. The investigation also reviewed the flight paths, noting that the helicopter was performing a non-standard approach characterized by steeper descent and different speed parameters compared to typical airplane traffic patterns.
Findings
- Inadequate observation of the traffic situation by the Piper PA28 crew.
- A loss of situational awareness by the airplane crew following the loss of visual contact with the helicopter.
- A failure by the AFIS officer to react to the unsafe approach of the airplane on the straight-in to the runway.
- The helicopter's use of non-standard landing parameters during training maneuvers contributed to the complexity of the traffic environment.
- The airplane crew's acknowledgments of the AFIS warnings inadvertently convinced other parties that separation was being maintained.