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Old 18th Aug 2003, 18:07
  #150 (permalink)  
LostThePicture
 
Join Date: May 2003
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Yes, by far the best programme out of the three in the series, and a comprehensive account of the terrible sequence of events that led to the tragedy.

If it highlighted one thing to me more than any other, it was that pilots must always, always follow the TCAS when they are in an RA situation. There is a school of thought that says that controllers should only give avoiding action in the horizontal plane in such a situation, and let the TCAS take care of the vertical element. Controllers have no way of knowing how the TCAS systems on each aircraft will "agree" to resolve the conflict, and the result can often be differing instructions from the voice in the cockpit and the voice on the ground. Pilots should always follow the TCAS, but there is bound to be a split-second of doubt when ATC is telling you the opposite.

However, this is in no way criticism of Peter X, who was entirely a victim of bad management and circumstance - the incident could have happened to any ATCO. I only hope that he is not charged.
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