Event Description
A serious incident involving an airprox between two aircraft occurred at Roma Urbe Airport on May 25, 2001, at 06:53 UTC. The aircraft involved were a Cessna 182, registration I-LUPP, operated by Aero Club Lugo, and a BN-2P, registration I-LACO, operated by City Fly. The Cessna 182 was on a tourism flight with one pilot and one passenger, while the BN-2P was engaged in aerial work.
Aircraft Information
The Cessna 182 was a single-engine, high-wing aircraft powered by a Continental O-470-L engine.
Weather Conditions
At the time of the incident, wind was calm, visibility was 7 kilometers, and there were scattered clouds at 2,500 feet.
Sequence of Events
The BN-2P had taken off from runway 34 and turned left to enter a left downwind leg to return to final approach for picking up a banner. Meanwhile, the Cessna 182, arriving from Lugo di Romagna, entered the downwind leg without prior contact with the airport tower and failed to report at the "Settebagni" entry point to the ATZ. As a result, the two aircraft found themselves on perpendicular paths at close range.
The tower then instructed the BN-2P to perform a right turn to avoid a collision and informed it of traffic at 12 o'clock. The BN-2P executed a turn with a bank angle of 60° at an altitude of about 800 feet.
Analysis
The incident occurred because the pilot of the Cessna 182 did not observe air traffic rules, specifically by not contacting the tower before entering the traffic pattern and by omitting the required position report at the ATZ entry point.
Probable Cause
The probable cause was the pilot of I-LUPP's failure to comply with air traffic regulations.