Mid-air collision Serious incident General Dynamics F-16AM Fighting Falcon J-515, Thursday 16 November 2023

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Date:	Thursday 16 November 2023
Time:	13:40 UTC
Type:	General Dynamics F-16AM Fighting Falcon
Owner/operator:	Koninklijke Luchtmacht - KLu
Registration:	J-515
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	None
Category:	Serious incident
Location:	N of Elburg - Netherlands
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Volkel Air Base (UDE/EHVK)
Destination airport:	Volkel Air Base (UDE/EHVK)
Investigating agency:	Dutch Safety Board

Narrative:
A Tecnam P-Mentor (PH-ZVT) with an instructor and student pilot on board was conducting a training flight. at the same time two Royal Dutch Air Force F-16s were flying from Vlieland (Vliehors Range) to Volkel Air Base. North of Elburg, one of the F-16s (J-515, callsign Shark 1) and the Tecnam came into each other’s proximity. The F-16 made an evasive manoeuvre. All aircraft continued their flight without any further reported issues.

F-16 Shark 1 was the leader of a formation of two F-16s (Shark formation), returning from a training exercise at the Vliehors Range (Vlieland) to Volkel Air Base. The Tecnam, with an instructor and student on board, had taken off from Lelystad Airport for a local training flight. After both the Shark formation and the Tecnam changed course and altitude, both aircraft were flying towards each other at the same altitude.
The incident occurred because the flight crews were initially unaware of each other’s presence and they did not see each other until the last moment. Only after the air traffic controller had informed the Shark formation on the other aircraft, the pilot of Shark 1 noticed the Tecnam and performed an evasive manoeuvre. The Tecnam’s crew only saw the F-16 after it had performed the evasive manoeuvre at close range.
ATC radar data indicated that Shark 1, flying at 3000 feet, and the Tecnam passed each other with a minimum horizontal separation of approximately 240 metres and a vertical separation of 125 feet. The groundspeed of Shark 1 at the time of the manoeuvre was approximately 420 knots.

The Shark formation was operating under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and the Tecnam was flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). The near mid-air collision took place in Class E airspace. In this airspace class, air traffic control does not provide separation between IFR and VFR flights; air traffic control provides only traffic information as far as practical.
At the time of the incident, the Shark formation was in radio contact with the air traffic controller of the Military Air Traffic Control Centre (MilATCC), while the Tecnam was in contact with the Flight Information Service Officer (FISO) of MilATCC. The controller and the FISO were operating on different radio frequencies. Consequently, the air traffic services personnel as well as the flight crews could not hear each other’s radio transmissions.

The trajectory of high-speed fighter aircraft via Amerongen and Kampen is a standard route for the RNLASF, but it is not officially published. This trajectory passes the airspace close to Lelystad Airport. If a high-speed fighter aircraft flies at an altitude between 1,200 and 3,000 feet and in the proximity of Lelystad Airport, the chance increases of an encounter between that high-speed fighter aircraft and slow flying general aviation aircraft.

Accident investigation: