What happened
On May 21, 2007, a single-engine Commander 114B departed from Westerstede on a visual flight rules (VFR) flight toward Leipzig-Halle Airport. The aircraft, carrying a pilot and one passenger, entered the Leipzig-Halle control zone and requested landing. At 15:47, the air traffic controller cleared the aircraft to land on runway 08, providing instructions for a long landing and an exit via taxiway Alpha 6.
At the time of the arrival, the controller was managing three other commercial aircraft on approach. While processing data for ground services and updating information systems, the controller's attention was diverted from visual monitoring. At 15:49, while searching against the sun, the controller spotted the aircraft on the final approach of the southern runway. This runway was a new parallel strip that was still under construction and had not yet been released for operations; it was marked with closed symbols.
The controller immediately issued a go-around instruction. The pilot queried the instruction but continued the approach and landed on the closed runway. Due to the presence of construction vehicles on the runway, the pilot was subsequently instructed to stop the aircraft immediately. There were no injuries and no damage to the aircraft.
The investigation
The BFU investigation examined the sequence of events, the controller's workload, and the pilot's navigation methods. The investigation reviewed radio communications, which confirmed the pilot's inquiries regarding taxiing after the landing. The investigation also verified the pilot's flight preparation, finding that all documentation and charts were current and that the pilot had used GPS for navigation.
Findings
- The pilot landed on a closed runway that was still under construction and not yet authorized for use.
- The pilot relied on GPS navigation and continued the landing approach despite receiving a go-around instruction.
- The air traffic controller was distracted by high workload, specifically the need to enter data for three arriving commercial aircraft into multiple information systems.
- Visual contact with the aircraft was lost temporarily due to the controller's focus on data entry and the difficulty of spotting the aircraft against the sun.