And in other news, Air Traffic Control changed the level of a QANTAS aircraft, the same type that suffered an explosion near Manila, to avoid another crossing its path. This dramatic maneuver, known as vertical separation, was initiated by the controller when they noticed that the flights would be in close proximity at the same level in ten minutes time just to the West of the NSW city of Wagga Wagga.
An Airservices Australia spokesperson said the practice was common among controllers, some who use it up to 100 times a day.
A passenger aboard the plane, who did not give his name, said "We were just cruising along and all of a sudden the engines revved up, the nose went up slightly and I could feel myself be pushed back into my chair slightly. At no time did the captain tell us what was happening. I was nervous about what was going on and I could see some other passengers were too. QANTAS should be ashamed at the lack of information they passed onto their passengers."
A QANTAS spokesperson said the incident would be investigated thoroughly. This near-miss comes just days after another QANTAS jet, carrying 234 passengers, was involved in a '5 mile standard' separation incident, where two planes were just 7.5 miles away from each other during a procedure known as 'vectoring for separation.'