Bulgaria’s PM addresses Parliament on VDL aircraft incident
period,” Zhelyazkov said.
He said that the systems on board the aircraft were in working order, the machine was continuously controlled by Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the aircraft was visible from airspace surveillance systems.
The flight delay was within about five minutes, which is acceptable, Zhelyazkov said.
“From the information available to date, no safety threat has been identified, which does not require corrective measures,” he said.
Zhelyazkov said that the conversation between the crew commander and the flight director did not indicate any concerns on the part of the pilot.
“The discussion between the commander and the tower was about the method of landing. Throughout the entire flight, the aircraft’s transponder constantly emitted a good quality GPS signal, there is no evidence of jamming,” he said, adding that there is no connection between the transponder and the GPS signal.
Aeronautical events related to interference in GPS signals in general do not qualify as incidents that require a mandatory investigation by relevant authorities according to the current regulations, Zhelyazkov said.
He said that such cases are not treated as incidents, since all necessary means and procedures are provided to ensure the safe execution of flights.
The final assessment of the need for an investigation is done by the National Board for the Investigation of Accidents in Air, Water and Railway Transport. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) has carried out the necessary inspection, Zhelyazkov said.
(Photo: government.bg)
