Partenavia P68 Incident at Melun-Villaroche (F-GIEV)

Incident Overview On 30 July 2019, a serious incident occurred involving a Partenavia P68 registered F-GIEV at Melun-Villaroche aerodrome in France. The aircraft was operating a private proficiency check flight with a pilot and an instructor on board. The incident involved a touch-and-go landing on a runway that was occupied by workers and vehicles, resulting in no injuries or damage. ## Flight Details The flight departed from Toussus-le-Noble aerodrome for a proficiency check, with the intention of conducting approach exercises at Melun-Villaroche. The flight preparation was found to be compatible with the planned operations. At Melun-Villaroche, runway 10/28 was undergoing maintenance work in the runway safety area, which was expected to last the entire day. The air traffic control services decided not to publish this information via NOTAM and instead managed the runway closure tactically in real time. ## Sequence of Events At 11:11 UTC, the pilot of F-GIEV requested an RNAV approach to runway 28, followed by a touch-and-go and a circuit before returning to Toussus-le-Noble. The controller authorized the approach and noted that wind conditions would be more favorable for runway 19, but the pilot confirmed their intention to continue with runway 28. At 11:17, a helicopter crew contacted the controller, who informed them that runway 19 was in service. The controller then identified a potential conflict risk if the F-GIEV approach was interrupted. Two minutes later, the F-GIEV pilot announced they would perform a touch-and-go followed by a circuit. At 11:21, the controller requested the helicopter pilot to cross the runway 28 axis quickly to allow the F-GIEV crew to perform a go-around, then requested a circuit to the south after the touch-and-go. One minute later, while F-GIEV was on short final, the controller requested a right-hand circuit (to the north) after the touch-and-go on runway 28. At 11:23, the controller provided traffic information to the helicopter pilot, who responded that they were on short final for runway 19. Simultaneously, the F-GIEV pilot performed a touch-and-go on runway 28 without a landing clearance being issued by the controller. ## Aftermath A few seconds later, the technical agent supervising the works at the runway contacted the controller to inform them that an aircraft had just 'passed over the runway' while workers were nearby and vehicles were present in the safety area. At 11:26, not having time to clear the runway safety area before the return of F-GIEV, the controller requested the pilot to 'remain airborne' after the circuit. The pilot accepted, specifying that the next planned exercise was a simulated engine failure. Between 11:28 and 11:35, the F-GIEV pilot was authorized to perform two go-arounds on runway 28 while personnel continued to move in the runway safety area.