What happened
On April 17, 2008, an Aerospool WT-9 Dynamic, registration SP-SPEC, was conducting a VFR flight from Katowice/Pyrzowice, Poland, to Eggenfeld, Germany. Upon entering the Prague FIR, the pilot established contact with Ostrava Approach (APP EC). At the time, air traffic services did not have a flight plan for the aircraft, having only received a verbal notification from FIS Krakow.
During the flight, Ostrava Approach identified that the aircraft's intended route toward Passau would conflict with active military training areas for the 'FLYING RHINO 2008' exercise. The controller recommended a course change toward Šumperk to avoid the restricted zones and instructed the pilot to switch to the MACC Praha frequency for further coordination. However, the pilot did not acknowledge the instruction to switch frequencies, and subsequent communications became unintelligible due to poor signal strength and deteriorating weather conditions involving rain, snow showers, and low cloud ceilings.
Without authorization and without establishing contact with relevant ATC units, the aircraft entered the MTMA LKPD. The flight path subsequently penetrated the active restricted areas JERBOA and RAT2, where the aircraft operated for approximately 20 minutes, potentially impacting military flight operations. The aircraft eventually exited the Prague FIR heading toward Passau at 13:31 UTC.
The investigation
The ÚZPLN investigation established that while the pilot had reviewed NOTAMs and used GPS navigation, they failed to maintain communication with the necessary controllers. The investigation found that the pilot did not request permission to enter the restricted areas from military airfield ATC units and did not seek updated information regarding the activation status of the restricted zones after losing contact with Ostrava Approach. Air traffic controllers at MACC Praha acted appropriately by coordinating military traffic and suspending operations in the LK R1 area to mitigate the risk posed by the unauthorized intrusion.
Findings
- The pilot failed to adequately assess the impact of published temporary restricted airspace during pre-flight planning.
- After losing radio contact with Ostrava Approach, the pilot continued navigation independently without requesting entry permission into restricted areas or seeking information regarding the activation of military training zones.
- Adverse weather conditions, including low clouds and precipitation, led the pilot to fly closer to aerodromes, which contributed to the flight path intersecting the restricted zones.
- The incident was classified as a significant airspace infringement, though the situation remained under the control of Czech air traffic services.