Mid-air collisions and near misses (MAC/Airprox)

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Near misses and collisions in the air (MAC/AIRPROX) 2023

In 2023, 68 near misses in the air that occurred in Finland or involved Finnish aircraft abroad were reported. This was above the average for 2013-2022 (54.2). 

If we only examine the situations that occurred in Finland, however, the number (38) was slightly below average (41.7). This means that 30 situations occurred abroad, which is clearly above the average of 18.1. Most of these were caused by a drone that was flown in the wrong place.
 
No actual collisions occurred in any of the situations, but in five cases the aircraft came so close to each other that the event was classified as a serious incident. The number of such cases was slightly below the long-term average (6.1). All of the cases occurred abroad, and the number was more than double the average for 2013-2022 (1.8). 
This means that no near misses happened in Finland that would have led to a serious incident. This was quite exceptional, because in 2013-2022, an average of 4.8 such situations occurred in Finland per year.
 

Commercial air transport

Finnish commercial air transport was a party to 45 near misses in total during 2023. This was above the average for 2013-2022. Of the cases, 20 occurred in Finland and 25 abroad. Especially abroad the figures were clearly above the long-term averages. 

Most of the situations in Finland took place at Helsinki Airport. Most of them were caused by separation minima infringements with ATC contribution. However, the number of cases at Helsinki Airport was at the same level as the average in the previous years. 
None of the cases in Finland was classified as a serious incident. In previous years, there have been 1.5 near misses classified as serious incidents in Finland on average.  

Abroad, situations occurred most often in London with a drone flown in the wrong place as the other party. Three of these cases were classified as serious incidents, which was roughly the same number as in the previous years. The number of situations that occurred in the United Kingdom last year was significantly above average. Elsewhere abroad, the number of situations was more or less at the same level as the average in the previous years.
 

General and recreational aviation

Finnish general and recreational aviation was involved in 16 near misses. The number was more or less at the level of the average for 2013-2022 (17.1). 
Of the cases, 13 took place in Finland and three abroad. Both numbers were slightly below average. Two of the cases were classified as serious incidents, and they took place abroad, in Spain and Slovakia, during the second quarter. 
This means that no near misses classified as a serious incident were reported in Finland, which can be considered as very exceptional. In previous years, an average of three near misses classified as a serious incident occurred in general and recreational aviation in Finland.

When most of the situations in commercial air transport took place at Helsinki Airport, in general and recreational aviation near misses occurred fairly evenly all around Finland. None of them occurred at Helsinki Airport, where in fact very little general or recreational aviation takes place. Many of the cases occurred at uncontrolled aerodromes, like in the previous years.

The importance of correct situational awareness is highlighted at uncontrolled aerodromes without ATC to control traffic. Being seen and heard was highlighted as a special theme of safety work in recreational aviation in Finland in 2023. More information on the topic is available in the presentation materials (External link) (in Finnish) of the Lentoon! seminar this year.

The safety bulletin (such as this one  (External link)(in Finnish) from the summer of 2020) has also identified the most typical causes of near misses and considered measures to avoid them, one of the most important of which is maintaining situational awareness: “The building blocks of situational awareness include trusting the others to also follow the common rules, listening to the radio frequency of the aerodrome and talking on it, and naturally also keeping your eyes open and observing the airspace.” 

Abroad, most of the near misses occurred in Spain during various training flights. In previous years, too, most of these situations have taken place in Spain.  The total number last year was slightly below average.

Drones

In 2023, drones caused eight near misses in Finland. The number was more or less at the level of the average for 2013-2022 (8.9). A typical case involved flying a drone too high in the airspace of Helsinki Airport. However, none of the cases last year caused a serious incident for manned aviation.

In Finland, the number of near misses caused by drones has been decreasing in recent years, which is positive. It is also true that in 2023, drones were flown without permission in controlled airspace more often than in previous years. Near misses were usually avoided, because no other aircraft happened to be nearby. You can find a more detailed review of the situation of airspace infringements here (External link).

In Finland, the situation has been improving in recent years, but abroad it has developed in the opposite direction. 
In 2023, drones caused 17 near misses with Finnish aircraft abroad. The number was more than double the average for 2015-2022 (6.9). 
Most of the cases were reported near London, and three of the cases in the year were classified as serious incidents. The number of serious incidents was also above average. In previous years, London was not a hot spot of near misses, but in 2023, approximately 70% of all situations abroad were reported from there. Most cases were clearly the result of intentional actions, including flying a drone e.g. very close to an airport or at a considerable altitude.

Air traffic control

The number of separation minima infringements with ATC contribution (not including wake turbulence separation minima infringements or separation minima infringements between an aircraft and airspace) in Finland in 2023 was 12. The number was below the average for 2013-2022 (17.2), and it was also below average in relation to the number of operations. Most of them took place at Helsinki Airport, but the number was also below average.
 
Most often the separation minima infringements took place during the approach, when the distance between two aircraft approaching one after another fell below the minimum distance. However, the infringements were fairly minor in all cases.

Types of incidents contributing to near misses

In addition to the airspace infringements  (External link)described in more detail in a separate section, other situations to be monitored that may contribute to near misses include clearance altitude violations(level busts), lateral deviations from the route, transponder malfunctions and incorrect reactions to a TCAS command.

In Finland, clearance altitude violations or level busts were reported in 48 cases in 2023, which is slightly more than the average for 2013-2022 (45). Most of the violations were reported again in military aviation (16), as typically in previous years, too. However, in 2023 the number was halved compared to the previous year, meaning that the situation improved. The number of cases in military aviation was now at the same level as the average for recent years. 
The number of violations by foreign military aviation in Finland (5) increased compared to the previous years, when only single cases of this type had occurred. 

In civil aviation, clearance altitude violations occurred 34 times, which is slightly more than in the previous year and above the average (28). Typically in these cases, a commercial air transport aircraft descended below the clearance altitude set by ATC at some point during approach.
In Finland, most clearance altitude violations occurred at Helsinki Airport or Rovaniemi. 

Abroad, Finnish aircraft were involved in 22 level busts. The number was slightly above 15.2, the average of previous years. Violations occurred fairly evenly in different parts of the world.

As in previous years, a common factor contributing to the clearance altitude violations seems to have been an inadvertent error in the cockpit. For example, pilots may have forgot that they do not have appropriate clearance from ATC prior to climbing or descending from the cleared altitude. 

Lateral deviations from the route in Finland or involving Finnish aircraft were reported in 99 cases in 2023. The number was clearly above the average for 2013-2022 (58.7). 

There were 57 cases in Finland, which is above the average (45.8), but the situation has nevertheless remained fairly stable in recent years. In most cases, the deviation occurs either during the route or approach phase of the flight. A typical situation occurred either in Finnish or foreign commercial air transport, when the final approach track was not followed during approach according to the clearance, or for instance a wrong waypoint was selected in the aircraft system.

In Finnish commercial air transport operations abroad, clearly more of such situations were reported than the average of the previous years. The situations were not focused on any specific location; instead, they occurred fairly evenly around the world. The situation often occurred either during the approach (the localiser was not followed during approach as cleared) or during takeoff and the initial takeoff (incorrect SID or standard instrument departure route was entered into the aircraft’s systems). 

Transponder malfunctions or incorrect operation, such as setting the wrong transponder code, was reported in 30 cases in 2023, which is above the average of 2013-2022 (18.2). Most of the cases last year seemed to apply to a certain type of helicopter in Rovaniemi and the visibility of its transponder in the ATC systems. If this particular aircraft type is excluded, the numbers were more or less at the same level as in the previous years.