Qantas jet almost rammed by sky-hog glider pilot
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Qantas jet almost rammed by sky-hog glider pilot
Found this article in the 'The Register' today.
A Qantas jet had to swerve out of the way of a sky-hog hang glider in the vicinity of Adelaide, Australia, according to reports.
The incident actually took place in February, but has only been picked up by the Australian media in recent days. The Sydney Morning Herald quotes a Qantas spokesman as stating that "a hang glider entered controlled airspace without clearance", placing the blame squarely on the wayward bird-man.
Apparently, "the Qantas crew noted the hang glider's presence", - there isn't any description of what the pilots actually said, sadly - "and took appropriate action".
The airline immediately squealed to the Australian safety authorities, and also gave its pilots a "reminder of the importance of scanning outside the flight deck in busy approach airspace" - pilot speak for looking out the window now and then.
But a hang-gliding enthusiasts' spokesman cast some doubt on Qantas' version of events. Chris Fogg, general manager of the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia (HGFA), told the Herald that none of his members had coughed to jostling any airliners.
According to Fogg, that leaves only two possibilities. Firstly, that a dastardly "renegade" non-HGFA scab birdman had intruded into controlled airspace; or alternatively that the rogue aircraft wasn't a hang glider at all, but something resembling one – perhaps a paraglider. Fogg seemed unwilling to entertain the possibility of an errant HGFA member simply keeping schtum.
He also downplayed the seriousness of the incident, saying that the Qantas aviators had "made a correcting course, not a severe evasive action", according to the Herald.
There seems little hope of the mystery birdman being brought to book, as the Aussie air-safety investigators don't seem to be putting significant resources into the hunt. Or any resources at all, in fact. An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) spokesman said a report on the incident had been received from Qantas, but candidly admitted that the ATSB had done nothing about it.
The incident actually took place in February, but has only been picked up by the Australian media in recent days. The Sydney Morning Herald quotes a Qantas spokesman as stating that "a hang glider entered controlled airspace without clearance", placing the blame squarely on the wayward bird-man.
Apparently, "the Qantas crew noted the hang glider's presence", - there isn't any description of what the pilots actually said, sadly - "and took appropriate action".
The airline immediately squealed to the Australian safety authorities, and also gave its pilots a "reminder of the importance of scanning outside the flight deck in busy approach airspace" - pilot speak for looking out the window now and then.
But a hang-gliding enthusiasts' spokesman cast some doubt on Qantas' version of events. Chris Fogg, general manager of the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia (HGFA), told the Herald that none of his members had coughed to jostling any airliners.
According to Fogg, that leaves only two possibilities. Firstly, that a dastardly "renegade" non-HGFA scab birdman had intruded into controlled airspace; or alternatively that the rogue aircraft wasn't a hang glider at all, but something resembling one – perhaps a paraglider. Fogg seemed unwilling to entertain the possibility of an errant HGFA member simply keeping schtum.
He also downplayed the seriousness of the incident, saying that the Qantas aviators had "made a correcting course, not a severe evasive action", according to the Herald.
There seems little hope of the mystery birdman being brought to book, as the Aussie air-safety investigators don't seem to be putting significant resources into the hunt. Or any resources at all, in fact. An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) spokesman said a report on the incident had been received from Qantas, but candidly admitted that the ATSB had done nothing about it.
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I dont have any Adelaide charts handy but how easy is it to get close to a class C approach path in a Hang glider down there???
Dont reckon the ATSB will ever find him......not like he would have had a BIG VH rego to spot, or a radar trace to where he came from.
If it was that close it shoulda scared the crap out of the idiot! And he might not do it again.
J
Dont reckon the ATSB will ever find him......not like he would have had a BIG VH rego to spot, or a radar trace to where he came from.
If it was that close it shoulda scared the crap out of the idiot! And he might not do it again.
J
Oh I laughed when I read, “Firstly, that a dastardly "renegade" non-HGFA scab birdman”. I shouldn’t be surprised, it is aviation and they are pilots in a kind of way !!!!
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But a hang-gliding enthusiasts' spokesman cast some doubt on Qantas' version of events. Chris Fogg, general manager of the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia (HGFA), told the Herald that none of his members had coughed to jostling any airliners.
Dick Smith has been quoted as saying "this is exactly how the new airspace system is supposed to work. The Qantas pilots looked out the window and avoided a catastrophe. Isn't See and Avoid fantastic?".
Evertonian
The airline immediately squealed to the Australian safety authorities
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The airline immediately squealed to the Australian safety authorities
Just a thought, considering the height perhaps it was a trike, aren't there some trike operators out that way? A trike and a hang glider would look mighty similar at 250+ knots.
