What happened
On June 4, 2016, at Benešov Airport (LKBE), a serious mid-air proximity incident occurred involving three aircraft. A Cessna 172, registration OK-IKQ, was performing training flights consisting of touch-and-go landings on runway 24. During the third such maneuver, the crew failed to communicate their intention to perform a touch-and-go, only announcing their position on the final approach.
Simultaneously, a Z-226 tow aircraft, registration OK-KNX, was preparing to depart from runway 27, towing an L-226 glider, registration OK-0239. The tow aircraft pilot announced the departure via radio, but the announcement went unacknowledged by both the Cessna crew and the radio dispatcher.
As the tow formation climbed, the instructor in the glider noticed the Cessna 172 approaching at a high rate of speed and a low altitude, positioned approximately 30 meters away and 5 meters below the tow formation. The glider instructor urgently radioed instructions for the tow aircraft to turn left, which helped avert a collision. The Cessna pilot was already executing a right-hand turn to avoid nearby terrain, which placed the aircraft on a conflicting path with the departing glider formation.
The investigation
The ÚZPLN investigation examined the radio communications, the flight paths of all involved aircraft, and the actions of the airfield dispatcher. The investigation established that the Cessna crew had a clear view of the runway thresholds but did not observe the tow formation on runway 27. The investigation also reviewed the dispatcher's logs and found that the dispatcher failed to respond to the tow aircraft's departure announcement and did not record the incident in the station log.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was a chain of events, beginning with the Cessna 172 crew failing to announce their intention to perform a touch-and-go landing.
- The lack of communication regarding the touch-and-go maneuver negatively impacted the situational awareness of all other participants in the traffic pattern.
- The Cessna crew lacked a complete visual and radio overview of the traffic at LKBE during the maneuver.
- The radio dispatcher failed to respond to the tow aircraft's departure announcement and did not provide information regarding the status of runway 27.
- The investigation noted that the Cessna crew did not react to the tow aircraft's radio announcement of its departure.
Safety action
- The operators at LKBE should familiarize all flight operators, personnel involved in flight operations, and the Bene RADIO dispatcher with the details of this incident.