Flight History
On August 16, 2018, an Airbus A320-212 registered as D-AICD, operated by Condor Flugdienst GmbH as flight DE1744, departed from Kavala Airport (LGKV) en route to Munich International Airport. After engine start and ATC clearance at 06:50:16 UTC, the crew requested and received approval for a visual departure. At 07:07:00 UTC, the aircraft was cleared for take-off from runway 23L. During the initial climb, the aircraft followed a visual departure in the direction of XERIS point.
TCAS and Crew Response
At an altitude of approximately 2,650 ft, the crew received a TCAS Traffic Advisory (TA) indicating potential traffic. The First Officer, who was the Pilot Flying (PF), had previously observed an intruder symbol on the navigation display with a vertical separation of +300 ft. At 07:09:51 UTC, the TCAS commanded "MAINTAIN V/S" as the aircraft's rate of climb reduced. Shortly after, at 07:09:54 UTC, the TCAS reversed its command to "DESCEND". The PF initially pitched up in response to the maintain command, then applied nose-down input when the descent command was issued.
At 07:09:58 UTC, a dual input condition occurred when both pilots provided simultaneous sidestick commands. The Captain (Pilot Monitoring) had called "Descend, Descend" and pushed the sidestick forward without first announcing takeover of control per standard operating procedures. The closest point of approach with the conflicting helicopter (registration SX-HDW) occurred at 07:10:06 UTC, with a vertical separation of 109 ft and a horizontal distance of 0.09 NM (167 m). Following the TCAS resolution advisory, at 07:10:12 UTC and an altitude of 2,414 ft, the EGPWS issued a "TERRAIN AHEAD" caution. The dual input condition ended at 07:10:20 UTC, and the crew declared clear of traffic at 07:10:25 UTC.
Outcome
The aircraft resumed its climb and continued the flight to Munich, landing without further incident. The Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board (AAIASB) conducted an investigation, appointing an accredited representative from the operating state and a technical advisor from the state of manufacture.