Late on parade ... been following the BA chaos on another Forum and other places over the last couple of days!
During my 29 years in the RAF, I spent 8 years as a Tower controller [including time as SATCO and Local Examining Officer) and another 8 years in Area Radar (including Senior Supervisor, OC Training Sqn and LEO) at Joint units (Eastern Radar and LATCC). So I guess I can claim to have a reasonable spread of experience, including those years in a joint Mil/Civ environment.
I think the OP's question is 'reasonable' in the context he has drawn it, but there's no real difference when it comes down to the reality. ANY controller, of either persuasion, has potential to drop a ball occasionally and the incident in question shows how easily it can happen. The Airprox occurred simply because the Northolt controller was distracted
exactly at the time when the Gulfstream should have been turned inbound. Any controller, when juggling several balls at once, need to remember which ball is the most important at any given moment ... and that priority changes dynamically every few seconds.
In a perfect world, either of the following could have prevented the Airprox:
- Delay the controller handover until the Gulfstream was turned inbound. Literally a 'critical path'.
- Prioritise the Gulfstream and tell Heathrow Director to "Wait". Not easy to do, but see previous bullet!
Easy to say, in the comfort of my Study, of course. But if the Northolt controller had been Civil, the same scenario could have unfolded. That 07 approach must be a right sod to manage!
Have a picture of Eastern Civil. Of course, it would normally be much darker than that!
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