Safety Board calls for clearer action on jet-civil aviation conflict risks

Measures taken to prevent collisions between fast fighter jets and civilian aviation are “not yet concrete and clear enough,” according to the Dutch Safety Board. The assessment follows up on earlier recommendations made after a near mid-air collision 2.5 years ago, with the board noting that progress has so far been lacking in clarity and concreteness.

On 16 November 2023, a near-miss occurred involving a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 flying as part of a two-jet “Shark” formation and a Tecnam P-Mentor civilian training aircraft operating a lesson flight from Lelystad Airport.

The F-16 pilot avoided a collision only after air traffic control pointed out the presence of the other aircraft, prompting an emergency evasive manoeuvre. The crew of the Tecnam aircraft only noticed the fighter jet when it suddenly veered away nearby. The incident occurred just north of Elburg.

In October last year, the Dutch Safety Board concluded that better rules are needed to prevent such situations. Now, the Safety Board states that the ministers of Defense and Infrastructure & Water Management must jointly “do more” than they have done so far.

The Dutch Safety Board states that the ministers of Defense and Infrastructure & Water Management have formally adopted the recommendations, but that their implementation is “not concrete and clear enough.”

The board and aviation authorities note that the introduction of the F-35 has increased the scale and complexity of military training needs, prompting calls for a redesign of Dutch airspace.

This overhaul is part of a wider restructuring effort aimed at ensuring sufficient space for both military operations and civilian aviation. The board says the likelihood of such a collision is small but realistic, and that if it does happen, it is “usually catastrophic,” citing previous deadly mid-air collisions in 1999 and 2002.