Background
On 20 March 2009, the Director of Ponte de Sor Municipal Aerodrome submitted an operational work plan to the National Civil Aviation Authority (INAC) for runway improvement works. On 12 February 2010, a request was sent to INAC for a NOTAM closing runway 02/20 from 17 February to 8 March 2010, except for EMA operations during daylight. Visual markings were installed per ICAO Annex 14 §7.1. Due to delays, an extension until 31 March 2010 was requested on 4 March 2010.
Flight History
On 15 March 2010, a Piper PA-38-112 (registration CS-DIM) owned by Aero Clube de Coimbra departed Coimbra at 16:08 UTC on a visual navigation instruction flight with call sign Mondego-037. The flight plan had been filed and approved. Approaching Ponte de Sor at 16:45, the instructor made several radio calls on the aerodrome frequency with no reply. After an overhead join to check wind direction, the instructor observed markings on the runway but was unaware of any closing NOTAM. A low pass was made to confirm no obstacles; the runway appeared clear. The instructor then performed a simulated engine failure and emergency landing, touching down between the runway 20 threshold marking and the midpoint marking, demonstrating that a landing on a short strip is possible with proper procedures. The aerodrome director took charge and notified the GPIAA, aviation authorities, and police, who identified the crew. Minutes later, the aircraft departed for Coimbra.
Investigation
The GPIAA normally receives daily NOTAMs via Pre-flight Information Bulletins (PIB). A review of national series C and D NOTAMs from February until 16 March 2010 showed no reference to Ponte de Sor. The only information was “No information received or matching the query.” On 16 March 2010, the PIB began including NOTAMs C0048/10 and D0154/10. Inquiries with INAC revealed that the initial 12 February request had been forwarded to the International NOTAM Center, which issued NOTAMs C0018/10 and D0080/10 on the same day, effective 17 February to 8 March 2010, stating runway closed except for EMA. However, archived PIBs from January 2010 did not contain any of these NOTAMs for Ponte de Sor, though the NOTAM Summary of 1 March 2010 referenced C0003/10, C0018/10, D0007/10, and D0080/10.
Conclusion
The incident occurred because the NOTAM information regarding the runway closure was not disseminated to the flight crew through standard pre-flight briefing channels.