THE Royal Flying Doctor Service wants transponders made compulsory in all aircraft.
The call comes after a near collision with a light plane in the state's South-East.
The RFDS Pilatus PC12, carrying a pilot and three medical staff, and a 50-year-old Aeronautica Macchi AL60 with two people on board, came within 6m of each other about 56km northwest of Mt Gambier.
The RFDS pilot told the Australian Transport Safety Bureau his Pilatus "rocked" as they passed during the incident in July last year.
His aircraft was on its way to Mt Gambier for a medical retrieval, while the Aeronautica had been bought in Tasmania and was being flown back to South Australia.
The Aeronautica was not fitted with a transponder unit, which would have transmitted its exact location to the RFDS aircraft.
RFDS general manager of aviation and operations Barrie Hocking said that despite the RFDS pilot having followed all published procedures, a potentially serious incident had occurred.
He said all aircraft that flew in and out of "uncontrolled" airfields in regional and remote areas should be equipped with transponders.
"All high-performance aircraft accessing regional ports, not just the RFDS, are exposed to the risk of mid-air collision," Mr Hocking said.
"All RFDS aircraft are equipped with transponders and (Terminal Collision Avoidance Systems) that will alert pilots of other aircraft. Mandatory transponders in all aircraft would place another layer of defence in the system to prevent a mid-air collision."
In a report to the ATSB, the pilot of the small plane said he did not have a full appreciation of the proximity of his planned outbound track with the Adelaide-Mt Gambier inbound track.
His plane was not fitted with a transponder and he was flying directly into the sun.
The RFDS pilot told the ATSB that after descending through the cloud base and transmitting his intended flight path, he saw the other aircraft pass to the left of him flying in the opposite direction.
"The other plane was in such close proximity that his aircraft `rocked' as it passed," the pilot said.
SIDEBAR
"HOW DRAMA UNFOLDED"
CASA FINAL REPORT
On 1 July 2010, an Aeronautica Macchi S.P.A. AL60 aircraft, registered VH-ELI (ELI), departed Devonport, Tasmania (Tas.) for Portee Station, South Australia (SA) with planned refuelling stops at King Island, Tas. and Hamilton, Victoria (Vic.).
While enroute from King Island to Hamilton, the crew observed low cloud along the track and diverted to Mount Gambier, SA to refuel. After departing Mount Gambier, the crew observed that the left fuel tank gauge was indicating half full. The crew discussed the situation and elected to continue the flight. Also, the directional gyro had to be aligned twice by the crew due to gyroscopic precession. As a result, the aircraft diverted to the left of the planned track by about 2-4 km. The crew commenced correcting the track when an inbound Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. PC-12/45 aircraft, registered VH‑FDK (FDK), passed to the left in close proximity.
It was estimated that the distance between the two aircraft was between 5 and 15 m horizontally and about 20 ft vertically.
While the operator of FDK determined that their pilot had complied with the required procedures, they advised the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) that they will be conducting an internal education to remind pilots that maintaining a lookout and the use of radio telephony procedures are the primary tools used for traffic separation, supported by the traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS).
THE QUESTIONS:
I have to ask, why was the doc so low (730m) when he was 53km away from Mount Gambier?
Don't ALL VH registered aircraft have to be fitted with a transponder?
discuss: