On February 28th we met for our annual AOPA Safety Seminar – despite it being a sunny Saturday we had a great turnout! Thank you to our speakers and to our members who attended! I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed yourselves and even learned something new. It was an insightful day sharing knowledge and experience – this is what it is all about – bringing the aviation community together.
Jean-Claude Petesch from the Direction de l’Aviation Civile (DAC) returned again this year to provide us with the Annual Safety Review – all the stats and figures at ELLX – always neatly presented and explained.
The 2025 figures were not yet available so he presented those from 2024, comparing them from those in 2023. It is important to note that there were no accidents in 2024. Reporting of occurrences continues to increase year after year, which is a good trend to see. Fatigue and GPS Jamming make up the majority of the occurrences reported.
The top 3 safety issues, in no specific order are Fatigue, GPS Spoofing and Jamming and Risk of Midair Collision. The latter has seen a decrease in the number of events however this is one of the events with the highest risk.
The DAC has noticed an increase in vehicles cutting off aircraft as they enter and exit the apron at ELLX, so always keep your eyes open and be aware of traffic moving around you on the ground.
The DAC has seen an increase in GPS jamming and Spoofing over the last few years as the number of conflict zones where Luxembourg based airlines fly to, near or over has increased. This is a low risk incident but the volume of reports is high. Jamming is when the GPS provides no information at all. Of greater concern is GPS Spoofing, where the GPS is providing incorrect information. This is more serious as it results in false warnings. Regarding drones, when and where they can be flown and their height restrictions can be found on a live map on the Geoportail website: Grand Public – Geoportal Luxembourg.
As of December 2025 there is a new law in place with penalties for violation of no fly zones. There will be more to come this year and next. New National Regulatory Framework for Drone Use – Commission on the access to documents – The Luxembourg Government
As a reminder, occurrence report handling at the DAC is still manual for GA pilots via a portal: www.aviationreporting.eu. Accident and serious incidents are to be reported to the country in which they occurred, all else are to be reported in the country where your license was issued.
Cyrial Talon, president of the Luxembourg Aerobatic Association (LAA), representing Luxembourg at the FAI World Aerobatic Championships and placing in many competitions worldwide, is no stranger to our Safety Seminars. Cyrial returned to talk about stalls, spins and barrel rolls!
Keeping the wings level and nose level to the horizon are the most important things to keep in mind to safely recover from a stall. If you fly with auto-pilot – practice stalls because every auto-pilot reacts differently! Be sure to know how your specific equipment reacts.
The further back your plane’s center of gravity is located, the more stable the spin – therefore the harder it is to get out of it.
If you want to fly your plane to its limits, experiencing the sensation but also practicing the recovery – Cyrial and his team are available to teach you! Contact Cyrial directly at: cyrial_talon@hotmail.com or go to the LAA website: about_us
Timo Blunck, Senior ATM-CNS Security Expert (Air Traffic Management – Communications, Navigation, Surveillance) at Eurocontrol joined us for the first time this year. Timo has been at EUROCONTROL since 2011 after 20 years of service in the German Armed Forces. During his time at the German Air Force, he was assigned to NATO Air Base Neuburg – Donau. He trained the NATO AWACS fleet including the theory and practice of Electronic Warfare (EW) and Electronic Counter-Countermeasures (ECCM). We were lucky to have him present to talk about Comm Loss in controlled airspace.
After 9/11 NEASCOG (NATO-Eurocontrol Air Traffic Management Security Coordinating Group) was formed and the first thing briefed in this group was Comm Loss. Comm Loss is not only due to failure of equipment but is any prolonged loss of communication which can be due to human error or not however it is when this is unknown, that means the pilot does not realize there is a comm loss.
Different countries, even within Europe, define comm loss differently. In Germany, for example, Comm Loss is established when there is no pilot response 5 minutes after the first call.
Comm Loss has a large impact on military operations – the entire chain of events from the moment Comm Loss is established, scrambling fighter pilots and prepping planes – all in a readiness for interception. Even if communication is re-established without having fighters in the air, the chain of events was already set in motion and this all takes up precious time and resources. Many bases now have a small plane or helicopter for Comm Loss interceptions, rather than sending out a fighter jet with a fighter pilot on board.
Timo also shared more in-depth knowledge about GPS jamming and spoofing. Position discrepancies are top of mind however there are also clock anomalies, so best to wear a watch when you fly. There are ADS-B timestamp discrepances, so ATC may see the delayed or wrong info on their radars. There are also discrepancies in the air management system, wrong wind or airspeed due to the GNSS interface. You should be aware of any areas where this may occur, check the notams and carry a paper map as a backup.
For a map of locations where GPS jams have been reported see: Live GPS Jamming & Spoofing Map | GPSwise or GPSJAM GPS/GNSS Interference Map
Representatives from Administration de la Navigation Aérienne (ANA) joined us for second year in a row! Pit Schmitt, Operational Investigator and Isah Skrijelj, Deputy Safety Manager.
ANA is Luxembourg’s ANSP, Air Navigation Service Provider, providing air navigation services for all users of Luxembourg airspace. Among its many responsibilities ANA investigates occurrences related to ATC, MET and ARO. The focus usually lies on procedures and whether a systemic root cause can be determined to have led to an incident.
They walked us through airspace infringements, explaining this as the moment an airspace is entered into without prior approval, regardless of the length of time which one spends in that airspace.
ANA recorded a slight increase in drone reports and reminded us that if you see any suspicious drone activity to call the police.
They advised that the French DGAC (Direction générale de l’Aviation civile) is working to modernize and simplify French airspace, reclassifying Class E (Echo) airspace either reducing Echo to uncontrolled Golf or replacing it with controlled Delta to better align with European standards. Something for us to keep an eye on.
Mike Ginter Senior Vice President of the AOPA Air Safety Institute joined us remotely from the US. Mike and his team monitor trends in general aviation safety and develop video and instructional resources. Mike earned his Private Pilot’s License in 1980, graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1983 and served for 27 years as a U.S. Naval Aviator, flying the aircraft carrier-based Lockheed S-3 Viking on several deployments. Mike has accumulated over 5600 hours in various military and general aviation aircraft, and currently owns a 1972 Beechcraft Bonanza and 1968 Cessna 172.
Mike joined us remotely with a fantastic presentation celebrating the 85 years of AOPA and 75 years of GA accident statistics! He talked about safety trends and shared real life tips on how to improve safety, reminding us of the many tools we all have available.
Will you recognize when risk is increasing? Have you thought of asking yourself what you would do in an emergency? Have you walked through it? What are you doing to stay sharp? We should all be prepared in advance.
The trends show that there are fewer accidents year on year however the cause of fatal accidents has remained the same: mostly loss of control inflight.
What Causes Loss of Control Inflight? Pilot error, weather and aircraft issues. First, fly the aircraft— no matter what. Level the wings, climb, focus 100% on controlling aircraft and call ATC
Recover from spatial disorientation by turning to your flight instruments for guidance, keeping your head movements to a minimum, leveling the wings and climbing. If equipped with auto-pilot, engage it.
One third of VFR into IMC accidents are due to lack proficiency and unequipped aircraft and involve an instrument rated pilot. Properly execute the transition from VMC to IMC maintaining control or turn around before being forced to enter IMC, look around, is there a road or a field to land in?
If you have someone in the right hand seat, use them – delegate to them.
Don’t be afraid to ask for more training and to use all of the tools available to you. There are many videos and reports available from AOPA online at the AOPA Air Safety Institute: Air Safety Institute – AOPA – especially the videos, podcasts and accident analysis.
For those of you who have a non-pilot co-pilot, you may want to watch the Pinch Hitter series together: Companion Copilot Pinch Hitter Video Series – AOPA
Thank you to those who helped organize this wonderful event!
We look forward to seeing our members in numbers next year! Would you like a deeper dive into a specific topic? Let us know! Together we can find an expert and invite them in! Feel free to email me at: safetyseminar@aopa.lu