Near-Miss Incident Involving Cessna 152 and Tecnam P92 JS in ATZ LKBE (OK-FAB)

Incident Overview and Aircraft Details On 25 May 2018, a near-miss incident occurred in the Aerodrome Traffic Zone (ATZ) of Benešov (LKBE) involving two aircraft: a Cessna 152 with registration OK-FAB and a Tecnam P92 JS with registration OK-HDG. The Cessna 152, manufactured by Cessna Aircraft Company in 1985, was operated by Flying Academy s.r.o. The Tecnam P92 JS, manufactured by Costruzioni Aeronautiche TECNAM S.p.A. in 2011, was operated by F AIR, spol. s r.o. Both aircraft were used primarily for pilot training by Approved Training Organisations (ATOs). ## Flight Progression and Proximity The Cessna 152 was conducting a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) navigation flight from Letňany (LKLT) with a planned landing at České Budějovice (LKCS). After departing Letňany at 15:38 UTC, the pilot-learner remained on the operational frequency of the Flight Information Centre (FIC) Prague throughout the flight. At 16:03 UTC, the Cessna entered the ATZ LKBE at a position 5.5 km north of the Aerodrome Reference Point (ARP) without reporting its intended entry point and altitude on the appropriate LKBE frequency. It was flying at 90 kt and 2,400 ft AMSL. Simultaneously, the Tecnam P92 JS, carrying a pilot-learner and an instructor, had taken off from runway 24 at LKBE. At 16:04:30 UTC, the two aircraft were on reciprocal tracks with a horizontal distance of 0.69 NM and a vertical separation of 500 ft. By 16:04:40 UTC, the horizontal distance had decreased to 0.16 NM with a vertical separation of 400 ft. The closest approach occurred between 16:04:40 and 16:04:43 UTC, when the horizontal distance was 0.08 NM (150 m) and the vertical separation was 400 ft. ## Crew Actions and Aftermath The instructor in the Tecnam P92 JS observed the oncoming Cessna in a collision course during the climb between the first and second turns of the circuit. To avoid a collision, the instructor applied a sharp push. The Cessna passed at a distance of less than 50 m, and the pilot-learner in the Cessna was unaware of the danger. The Cessna continued in level flight at 2,500 ft AMSL, while the Tecnam continued climbing to 2,300 ft AMSL. The pilot-learner in the Cessna was informed of the incident by the FIC Prague dispatcher. Both aircraft completed their flights without further safety threats. ## Meteorological and Operational Conditions The meteorological conditions at LKBE were CAVOK, with a surface wind of 240°/5 kt and visibility over 10 km. The LKBE aerodrome has two grass runways: RWY06/24 (730 x 60 m) and RWY09/27 (750 x 60 m), both operational. The circuit height was 2,460 ft/750 m AMSL. Neither aircraft was equipped with any electronic collision avoidance system, such as FLARM. The airspace was Class G, where the responsibility for collision avoidance rests with the aircraft commander.