divingduck
7th Mar 2012, 07:34
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from the SMH
Virgin plane's mid-air near miss with business jet
Andrew Heasley
March 7, 2012 - 4:18PM
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Within a fortnight of Australia's air safety bureau announcing a wide ranging investigation into air traffic control failings, it has revealed details of another mid-air near miss involving an airliner.
A Melbourne-bound Virgin Blue Boeing 737 and a business charter jet had been put on a head-on course, this time by defence department air controllers overseeing Newcastle Airport in NSW, which handles miliary and civilian aircraft movements.
The jets were travelling towards each other at a closing speed of more than 1000km/h at almost the same altitude over Newcastle (the Boeing climbing to 5000 feet after taking-off from Newcastle Airport , the business jet descending to 5000 feet to land).
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At their closest, the two jets came within 122 metres vertically and 1300 metres horizontally of each other — a third of the required safe distances — as the airliner pilots responded to a cockpit collision warning and shed altitude.
The Virgin pilots saw the business jet flash past in front of them; the business jet pilots said they never saw the Boeing 737.
Two air controllers were each looking after one of the aircraft, without communicating with one another, "resulting in both aircraft being assigned the same level [altitude] and with conflicting tracks [flight paths]," investigators said.
An automated near-miss alert function had been disabled on the controllers' screens because military aircraft movements — particularly formation flying — set off too many false alarms.
Alarmed air traffic controllers in Brisbane contacted them to query if they were aware of the impending collision course.
One defence controller belatedly issued a safety alert to the business jet's pilots, but only after the planes had crossed. The other controller did not issue a safety alert to the Virgin pilots.
A 14-month investigation, released today, into the February 1 incident last year found it was one of 10 such near misses by defence controllers in 18 months, exposing significant training deficiencies.
It found gaping holes in the defence department's air traffic controller training: the department did not provide initial or ongoing training to controllers to handle a near miss scenario and did not clearly define aircraft separation responsibilities.
The department has subsequently revised its training content, delivery and personnel testing.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has launched a wide ranging investigation into near misses that have occurred between 2008 and 2011, putting the defence department and the civilian controllers, Airservices Australia, under the microscope.
Read more: [url]http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/virgin-planes-midair-near-miss-with-business-jet-20120307-1uk0k.html#ixzz1oPylLA5N (http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/virgin-planes-midair-near-miss-with-business-jet-20120307-1uk0k.html)
from the SMH
Virgin plane's mid-air near miss with business jet
Andrew Heasley
March 7, 2012 - 4:18PM
Read later
Within a fortnight of Australia's air safety bureau announcing a wide ranging investigation into air traffic control failings, it has revealed details of another mid-air near miss involving an airliner.
A Melbourne-bound Virgin Blue Boeing 737 and a business charter jet had been put on a head-on course, this time by defence department air controllers overseeing Newcastle Airport in NSW, which handles miliary and civilian aircraft movements.
The jets were travelling towards each other at a closing speed of more than 1000km/h at almost the same altitude over Newcastle (the Boeing climbing to 5000 feet after taking-off from Newcastle Airport , the business jet descending to 5000 feet to land).
Advertisement: Story continues below
At their closest, the two jets came within 122 metres vertically and 1300 metres horizontally of each other — a third of the required safe distances — as the airliner pilots responded to a cockpit collision warning and shed altitude.
The Virgin pilots saw the business jet flash past in front of them; the business jet pilots said they never saw the Boeing 737.
Two air controllers were each looking after one of the aircraft, without communicating with one another, "resulting in both aircraft being assigned the same level [altitude] and with conflicting tracks [flight paths]," investigators said.
An automated near-miss alert function had been disabled on the controllers' screens because military aircraft movements — particularly formation flying — set off too many false alarms.
Alarmed air traffic controllers in Brisbane contacted them to query if they were aware of the impending collision course.
One defence controller belatedly issued a safety alert to the business jet's pilots, but only after the planes had crossed. The other controller did not issue a safety alert to the Virgin pilots.
A 14-month investigation, released today, into the February 1 incident last year found it was one of 10 such near misses by defence controllers in 18 months, exposing significant training deficiencies.
It found gaping holes in the defence department's air traffic controller training: the department did not provide initial or ongoing training to controllers to handle a near miss scenario and did not clearly define aircraft separation responsibilities.
The department has subsequently revised its training content, delivery and personnel testing.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has launched a wide ranging investigation into near misses that have occurred between 2008 and 2011, putting the defence department and the civilian controllers, Airservices Australia, under the microscope.
Read more: [url]http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/virgin-planes-midair-near-miss-with-business-jet-20120307-1uk0k.html#ixzz1oPylLA5N (http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/virgin-planes-midair-near-miss-with-business-jet-20120307-1uk0k.html)