Incident Overview
On the morning of 6 April 2009, at 10:10 UTC, a SOCATA TB 200 aircraft, registration CS-DEM, operated by the Academia Aeronáutica de Évora (AAE), was involved in an airspace violation incident near Beja, Portugal. The aircraft was on a solo VFR navigation training flight, having departed from Évora aerodrome with an estimated en route time of two hours. The flight plan specified a standard departure via 'Echo' towards Reguengos de Monsaraz and Alandroal at a cruising altitude of 4,500 feet.
Flight Details
The student pilot, flying solo in accordance with the pilot training syllabus, was conducting the navigation mission. After takeoff, the aircraft, with call sign EVR 96, was transferred to the Flight Information Service (FIS) on frequency 123.75 MHz. Initial contact with FIS occurred while the aircraft was climbing through 4,000 feet, already within airspace controlled by Beja Air Base. Subsequently, FIS transferred the aircraft to Beja Approach on frequency 130.10 MHz.
Airspace and Communication
At 10:10 UTC, with the aircraft stabilized at 4,500 feet en route to Reguengos de Monsaraz, the student pilot contacted Beja Approach. The military controller responded that the aircraft had entered Work Area 03—which was being used by a military aircraft operating between FL060 and FL070—without authorization. The controller instructed the student to descend to 2,000 feet and contact FIS. The pilot complied and continued the flight without further issues. Work Area 03 is defined by radials R040–055, 20 DME from the Beja VORTAC, and is located within Class D airspace (designated LPR51BN, coordinates 038°32'55''N, 008°02'56''W to 038°30'09''N, 007°17'07''W), managed by Beja Approach. The controller's instructions were deemed sufficient and appropriate. No risk of collision existed.
Cause
The incident occurred because the student pilot did not identify the need to obtain authorization before entering Class D airspace controlled by Beja. Contributing factors included the student's unfamiliarity with procedures for using Class D airspace and a delay in establishing communications between EVR 96 and FIS, which prevented FIS from providing a timely alert.