Pilot errors in following air traffic control instructions or navigation
What this relates to
All incidents in which pilots do not act in accordance with the instructions, rules or standards of air traffic control (ATC) come within this category. These include incidents reported by Skyguide in Swiss and delegated airspace (Germany, France, Italy and/or Austria) and incidents involving an aircraft registered in Switzerland that was in contact with an air traffic control provider abroad.
Example
Air traffic control instructs a pilot to taxi to the holding point that marks the entrance to the runway and to enter the runway behind a landing aircraft. To identify the approaching aircraft, the pilot moves forward a little and crosses this line. The ATC stops him before he rolls onto the runway.
Commentary on the 2023 figures
The number of reported incidents in 2023 (593) was very similar to that for 2022 (588), remaining at a high level.
The overwhelming majority of incidents involved non-safety-related incorrect taxiing at controlled airports, e.g. turning onto the wrong taxiway at a crossing.
Deviations from the permitted flight altitude, known as level bust incidents, remained the second most frequent type of incident in this category in 2023 (99 reported incidents). Compared with 2022, the number fell by 10%. However, compared with the last five years and the pre-COVID average 2017–2019 (+33%), the figure was still high. Luckily, air traffic control detects such deviations quickly in most cases. It instructs the crews to resume the authorised flight altitude.
Cases of non-compliance with course or route instructions during the flight (49) and unauthorised taxiing onto the runway (35) were less frequent.
