Helicopter Takes Off Without Clearance at Tallinn Airfield (ES-PWA)

Incident Overview and Context On December 30, 2011, at 15:08 local time, an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter with registration ES-PWA began a takeoff from Tallinn Airfield (EETN) without receiving clearance from air traffic control. The aircraft was operating a planned border patrol flight under IFR rules. The crew had arrived at the airfield at 13:00, but technical issues delayed their readiness until 15:00. The captain, a 34-year-old male with 1,501 total flight hours, was the pilot in command. The second pilot, a 26-year-old male, had 596.25 total flight hours. Both crew members held valid licenses and medical certificates, and were reported to be well-rested. The weather conditions were visual flight rules (VFR) with good visibility, a wind of 220° at 10 knots, and a temperature of +3°C. The airfield's surface movement radar (SMR) was operational but did not issue an automatic warning because the predicted trajectories of the helicopter and the aircraft on the runway were parallel rather than intersecting. The investigation, conducted by the Safety Investigation Centre of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, determined that the incident was caused by the captain's distraction due to rushing, which led to the takeoff without clearance. Contributing factors included the failure to complete the pre-takeoff checklist and the absence of a formal standard operating procedure (SOP) for the Border Guard Aviation Wing. The investigation recommended that the Border Guard Aviation Wing approve the standard procedures section of its flight manual, establish effective supervision of procedure compliance, and consider modifying the pre-takeoff checklist to place the ground clearance item at the end.