On 23 June 2014, a German
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...
fighter jet and a
Learjet 35
The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet. When used by the United States Air Force they carry the designation C-21A.
The aircraft are powered by ...
business jet participating in a military exercise
collided mid-air over
Olsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The Learjet subsequently crashed to the ground with the loss of both crew members on board. The Typhoon was damaged but managed to land safely.
Collision
The accident happened at 14:38
CEST CEST or cest may refer to:
* Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone
* Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory
* Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...
(12:38
UTC).
["History of the Flight" (interim report, page 4).][ Two Eurofighter Typhoons were on exercise with the Learjet in the Elpe-Olsberg][ area. The Learjet was simulating a civilian airliner that had been hijacked and had broken off radio contact with ]Air Traffic Control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
, while the Typhoons were simulating a military response to such a scenario.["Planned Training Procedure" (interim report, page 13).] The lead Typhoon intercepted the Learjet, and as the latter turned to follow it, the two aircraft collided.["Flight data analysis" (final report, pages 44–45).]
The Learjet crashed about from houses in Olsberg, killing both crew members.["Wreckage and Impact Information" (interim report, page 9).][ The Typhoon aircraft was severely damaged, but was able to land safely at ]Nörvenich Air Base
Nörvenich Air Base (Fliegerhorst Nörvenich) is a German Air Force air base in Germany .
It is the home of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31 "Boelcke". The squadron flies the Eurofighter Typhoon.
History
It was built for the RAF Germany in 1 ...
, near Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
. The second Typhoon landed at Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne Bonn Airport (german: Flughafen Köln/Bonn 'Konrad Adenauer') is the international airport of Germany's fourth-largest city Cologne, and also serves Bonn, former capital of West Germany. With around 12.4 million passengers passing throu ...
.
Aircraft
The first aircraft was a Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...
, msn
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.
The Microsoft Net ...
GS0070. The aircraft was built in 2012.["Aircraft Information" (interim report, page 8).] It was operated by Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31
''Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31'' " Boelcke" (Tactical Air Force Wing 31; abbreviated as ''TaktLwG 31 "B"''), formerly known as ''Jagdbombergeschwader 31'' (Fighter-Bomber Wing 31; abbreviated as: ''JaBoG 31''), is a fighter-bomber wing of th ...
"Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke PlM (; 19 May 1891 – 28 October 1916) was a World War I German professional soldier and pioneering flying ace credited with 40 aerial victories. Boelcke is honored as the father of the German fighter air force, and of air ...
", Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
. It was based at Nörvenich Air Base
Nörvenich Air Base (Fliegerhorst Nörvenich) is a German Air Force air base in Germany .
It is the home of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31 "Boelcke". The squadron flies the Eurofighter Typhoon.
History
It was built for the RAF Germany in 1 ...
.
The second aircraft was a Learjet 35A
The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet. When used by the United States Air Force they carry the designation C-21A.
The aircraft are powered by ...
, registered D-CGFI, msn 35A-612, which had first flown in 1986.["Aircraft Information" (interim report, page 7).] It was operated by the , a subsidiary company of Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defence and space products, while also providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the ...
, and was based at Hohn Air Base
Hohn Air Base is a military air base in Germany. It was home to the ''Lufttransportgeschwader'' 63 (LTG 63 for short, Air Transport Wing 63 in English) of the German Air Force (''Luftwaffe'').
Usage
Since May 1968, the Transall C-160
The T ...
.[
]
Investigations
Investigations into the accident were carried out by the General Flugsicherheit der Bundeswehr and the Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU).[ The ]cockpit voice recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...
and flight data recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has ...
of the Learjet were recovered on the day of the accident, from a site from the crash site of the aircraft. The data from these devices were published in the BFU's interim report in September.["Flight Recorder" (interim report, page 9).] The BFU's final report into the accident was published in August 2015. It stated that the causes of the accident were:
* Immediate Causes:
** During positioning for the interception, the collision risk due to unexpected manoeuvres of the intercepted airplane was not sufficiently taken into consideration.
** The Learjet crew did not take into account the risks due to possible limitations of the field of vision and the distraction of using the computer when deciding their task distribution. Due to insufficient situational awareness during the intervention, the Learjet crew continued the turn with an excessive bank angle despite the loss of visual contact with the Eurofighter flying at the inside of the turn.
* Systemic Causes:
** The operator had not specified in detail how the crew should distribute their tasks during Renegade exercises.
** Neither the operator commissioned to conduct the aerial target demonstration nor the Air Force had sufficiently described the Renegade training nor had a commensurate risk analysis been done.
References
BFU
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsberg mid-air collision
Aviation accidents and incidents in 2014
Accidents and incidents involving the Learjet 45 family
Aviation accidents and incidents in Germany
2014 in Germany
Mid-air collisions
Mid-air collisions involving general aviation aircraft
Mid-air collisions involving military aircraft
21st century in North Rhine-Westphalia