Ivor_Bigunn
11th Oct 2023, 10:46
I saw this in today's Washington Post.
I reproduce the article below, with a few responses from WaPo readers that I found to be amusing/informative(!?!?)
(The article is behind a Paywall at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2023/10/10/austin-near-miss-military-private-jet/)
"The pilot of a private jet took evasive action to avoid a fighter plane last month as both tried to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The aircraft came within 200 feet of one another, according to a preliminary FAA account seen by The Washington Post. The FAA said in a statement that it is investigating the incident, in which the fighter plane also flew near a runway that a small propeller-powered aircraft was using to take off.
The Sept. 23 incident occurred as the FAA is working toward eliminating near misses after a spate of incidents earlier this year, including another close call at the Austin airport that investigators have highlighted as particularly serious. Officials say the close calls are a troubling sign of the stress within the nation’s aviation system as air traffic has grown from pandemic lows.
Archived radio traffic indicates an air traffic controller in Austin was not clear about what the military jet’s pilot intended to do.
The private jet, a Cessna Citation registered to the company NetJets, had been cleared to land by air traffic controllers as a military F/A-18 approached the airport, according to recordings archived by LiveATC.net. The fighter, using the call sign Snake21, asked permission to perform a maneuver called a break, which involves making a sharp turn to reduce speed before landing.
After airline close calls, industry highlights covid workforce disruptions
Within about half a minute of the clearances being issued, the private jet’s pilot announced that he had received a proximity warning, and an unidentified voice can be heard complaining over the radio: “That would have been nice to know.”
An air traffic controller said he expected the F/A-18 to begin its descent at a different point in the maneuver.
“Negative,” the military pilot responded. “I requested altitude, airspeed [at] my discretion for the break. Misunderstanding I suppose.”
NetJets did not respond to requests for comment. It was not clear which military service was operating the fighter, nor why it was using a civilian airport. The Navy and Marine Corps, which both use F/A-18s, did not respond to a request for comment.
After he landed, the military pilot later asked for a phone number to contact the air traffic control office to discuss what had happened.
“Yeah, I was going to give you the number here because I guess there was a miscommunication,” a controller said. “I misunderstood what was requested, I guess.”
Most of the recent near misses the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating have involved planes landing or taking off. But in July, a flight attendant was injured when an Allegiant Air flight took evasive action to avoid a midair collision with a private jet.
The FAA and NTSB each held public summits to address the incidents, which investigators say frequently involve miscommunications, and to develop strategies to eliminate them. The FAA has funded upgrades at airports designed to reduce conflicts on the ground and is exploring technology that could help pilots avoid collisions."
And three readers responses:
"This my inflammatory comment expressing outrage and an ill-informed opinion. Here’s a disclaimer so people won’t hold me accountable for my magical thinking based on incorrect supposition. I will now offer a view that extrapolates the story beyond logical boundaries."
"Best to remove all private jets from aviation. More and more are being sold to tax dodgers to pollute the planet in pursuit of business and pleasure miles high."
"Military pilots have been trouble makers at civilian airports for a long time."
I hope you all find this interesting,
IB
I reproduce the article below, with a few responses from WaPo readers that I found to be amusing/informative(!?!?)
(The article is behind a Paywall at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2023/10/10/austin-near-miss-military-private-jet/)
"The pilot of a private jet took evasive action to avoid a fighter plane last month as both tried to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The aircraft came within 200 feet of one another, according to a preliminary FAA account seen by The Washington Post. The FAA said in a statement that it is investigating the incident, in which the fighter plane also flew near a runway that a small propeller-powered aircraft was using to take off.
The Sept. 23 incident occurred as the FAA is working toward eliminating near misses after a spate of incidents earlier this year, including another close call at the Austin airport that investigators have highlighted as particularly serious. Officials say the close calls are a troubling sign of the stress within the nation’s aviation system as air traffic has grown from pandemic lows.
Archived radio traffic indicates an air traffic controller in Austin was not clear about what the military jet’s pilot intended to do.
The private jet, a Cessna Citation registered to the company NetJets, had been cleared to land by air traffic controllers as a military F/A-18 approached the airport, according to recordings archived by LiveATC.net. The fighter, using the call sign Snake21, asked permission to perform a maneuver called a break, which involves making a sharp turn to reduce speed before landing.
After airline close calls, industry highlights covid workforce disruptions
Within about half a minute of the clearances being issued, the private jet’s pilot announced that he had received a proximity warning, and an unidentified voice can be heard complaining over the radio: “That would have been nice to know.”
An air traffic controller said he expected the F/A-18 to begin its descent at a different point in the maneuver.
“Negative,” the military pilot responded. “I requested altitude, airspeed [at] my discretion for the break. Misunderstanding I suppose.”
NetJets did not respond to requests for comment. It was not clear which military service was operating the fighter, nor why it was using a civilian airport. The Navy and Marine Corps, which both use F/A-18s, did not respond to a request for comment.
After he landed, the military pilot later asked for a phone number to contact the air traffic control office to discuss what had happened.
“Yeah, I was going to give you the number here because I guess there was a miscommunication,” a controller said. “I misunderstood what was requested, I guess.”
Most of the recent near misses the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating have involved planes landing or taking off. But in July, a flight attendant was injured when an Allegiant Air flight took evasive action to avoid a midair collision with a private jet.
The FAA and NTSB each held public summits to address the incidents, which investigators say frequently involve miscommunications, and to develop strategies to eliminate them. The FAA has funded upgrades at airports designed to reduce conflicts on the ground and is exploring technology that could help pilots avoid collisions."
And three readers responses:
"This my inflammatory comment expressing outrage and an ill-informed opinion. Here’s a disclaimer so people won’t hold me accountable for my magical thinking based on incorrect supposition. I will now offer a view that extrapolates the story beyond logical boundaries."
"Best to remove all private jets from aviation. More and more are being sold to tax dodgers to pollute the planet in pursuit of business and pleasure miles high."
"Military pilots have been trouble makers at civilian airports for a long time."
I hope you all find this interesting,
IB