Room for Further Improvement in Flight School Emergency Response Plans and Minimum Training Requirements
A student pilot and his flight instructor were practising touch-and-goes in a Cessna 150 airplane at Lahti-Vesivehmaa aerodrome on February 7, 2021. The cloudy weather and snow-covered runway rendered the edges of the runway difficult to discern. Since the pilots’ attention was distracted from controlling the airplane after touchdown, they failed failed to notice the airplane’s drift to the right; as a result, the airplane hit the snow bank on the right side of the runway and came to rest inverted. There were no injuries, but the airplane was damaged beyond repair.
Vehicles proceeded onto the runway after the accident, and clearing of the accident site was begun before the occurrence had been reported as prescribed in applicable regulations. Two airplanes approached the aerodrome while this work was in progress. The pilot of the first airplane landed after judging that a safe landing was possible. The pilot of the second airplane elected to delay landing until the runway was clear.
The flight school’s emergency response plan was not updated and it was disregarded. Neither an air traffic services unit nor the Safety Investigation Authority Finland was immediately notified of the occurrence, and clearing of the accident site was begun on individuals’ own initiative. This resulted in a situation where one airplane landed on the occupied runway, while another held overhead waiting for a landing opportunity. Other accidents were, fortunately, avoided, but the incident shows that rules and regulations should be adhered to, and room for improvement remains in maintaining situational awareness, states SIAF Executive Director Professor Veli-Pekka Nurmi.
Factors in the accident included a deviation from the prescribed order of air exercises and the student’s inadequate level of theoretical knowledge and flight experience related to the training objectives. Winter conditions combined with a short and narrow runway and the student’s skill level provided additional challenge, explains investigator-in-charge Janne Kotiranta.
The SIAF issued four safety recommendations, of which three are directed to the the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom. These three address reporting procedures that persons and organizations involved in aviation should follow after an accident or a serious incident, instructions for accident site clearing, and risk analyses for winter operations. These should be reflected in flight schools’ manuals and operations. The fourth recommendation is directed to the European Aviation Safety Agency. The agency is urged to establish minimum training requirements for theoretical knowledge instruction before the commencement of flight instruction. It is also recommended that approved training organizations describe, in an unambiguous manner and based on risk assessment, acceptable reasons for deviations from the prescribed order of air exercises before the solo flight phase.
More information:
Investigator-in-charge Janne Kotiranta, tel. +358 29 515 0703
Executive Director, Professor Veli-Pekka Nurmi, tel. +358 29 515 0701
Mr. Janne Kotiranta
Chief Safety Investigator,
Aviation