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Two fighter jets and a transport helicopter came dangerously close on the Ufenau. The reason for this is puzzling.
Have a collision warning system: two F / A-18 planes of the Swiss Air Force near Meiringen. (October 10, 2018)
Photo: Marcel Bieri (Keystone)
the Dangerous approach of two fighter jets and a helicopter over Lake Zurich in February 2018 It can be attributed to the fact that the F / A-18 crews were unable to recognize the helicopter either visually or by technical aids. This is the conclusion of the Swiss Safety Investigation Board (Sust) in its final report, which was published on Wednesday.
In addition, the pilots of the fighter jets did not receive any traffic information about the low-flying helicopter as it was below the radar coverage of the military radar system.
The dangerous approach occurred on February 20, 2018 in the early afternoon at an altitude of around 700 meters above the island of Ufenau. The helicopter had departed from the island of Ufenau on a cargo flight to Pfäffikon SZ. During this time, the inn on the island of Lake Zurich was renovated.
F / A-18 without collision warning system
When it reached a height of about 700 meters, two Boeing F / A-18C interceptors of the Swiss Air Force that had taken off from Payerne VD approached. As a result, the helicopter and the fighter jets came dangerously close.
In the course of the investigation, the two fighter jets involved were found “once again” to have no collision warning system, Sust writes in its report. The reason for this is that there are exemptions for the operation of state aircraft that allow the resignation of safety equipment.
“The lack of equipment represents a considerable risk for all airspace users.”
“Especially when flying low at high speed through primarily civilian airspaces, this lack of equipment represents a considerable risk to all airspace users,” he continues. It was only by a fortunate circumstance that there was no less approach or even a collision.
The two fighter jets flew at right angles to the helicopter’s direction of flight. Therefore, in hindsight, even after a successful visual reconnaissance of the helicopter, no evasive maneuvering would have been necessary by the F / A-18 pilots.
View of the flight path of the helicopter (yellow lines) and fighter jets (red). The yellow arrow shows the position of the transport helicopter during the dangerous approach.
Illustration: From the research report.
Avoidable incident
However, the present case shows once again that there is no safety net that could have warned about the dangerous approach, writes the Sub. The current safety deficit had already been reflected in final reports on previous serious incidents with the corresponding recommendation of security.
“The Federal Office of Civil Aviation should work with the Air Force to ensure that Air Force aircraft operating primarily in civil airspace are also equipped with collision warning devices that are compliant with civil standards,” the The research body cites its own recommendation from 2013. And notes that consistent implementation of the security recommendation would have most likely avoided the dangerous approach of February 2018.
