What happened
On February 14, 2021, at 11:17 UTC, an air proximity incident occurred within the Warsaw Terminal Control Area (TMA), approximately 3 nautical miles southwest of Modlin Airport (EPMO). The event involved two aircraft: a Tecnam P2008JC (registration SP-LFD) and a Boeing 737-800 (registration SP-RKG).
The Tecnam P2008JC was conducting a solo instructional flight under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). The student pilot, training under a Danish-certified Approved Training Organisation, had departed from Piotrków Trybunalski (EPPT) and had recently completed a VFR approach to runway 26 at Modlin, followed by a go-around and a climb-out phase.
Simultaneously, the Boeing 737-800 was operating a scheduled IFR flight from Modlin to London Stansted (EGSS). The aircraft was in a climbing phase, traveling westbound after its departure from runway 26.
At the moment of the incident, both aircraft were at an altitude of approximately 2,300 feet above sea level. The horizontal separation between the two aircraft had decreased to 1.29 nautical miles, while the vertical separation was 0 feet, failing to meet the minimum required separation standards of 5.0 nautical miles horizontally or 1,000 feet vertically.
The investigation
The Polish State Commission on Aircraft Accident Investigation (SCAAI) led the safety investigation, with the Danish Accident Investigation Board providing assistance. The investigation examined the flight paths, the flight rules applied to each aircraft, and the specific separation parameters at the time of the encounter. There were no injuries and no damage to either aircraft.