V Aus and Air NZ TCAS, Fiji
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V Aus and Air NZ TCAS, Fiji
This was kept quiet
Fiji aviation authorities have launched an urgent investigation into why an Air New Zealand Boeing 767 nearly collided with a V Australia jet near Nadi, the Fiji Times reports.
It says the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAFI) has confirmed Australian authorities want to know why the two passenger planes with 600 people on board were on a collision course about 100 nautical miles out of Nadi.
The May 7 incident happened around 4pm.
Air New Zealand officials were not available in Auckland for comment on the report, but the Fiji times quoted the airline's Lara Harrison saying the company had received enquiries on the near-miss.
"A Virgin Australia flight passed approximately 10 nautical miles behind an Air New Zealand service operating to Fiji on Friday, 7 May. Both aircraft were in contact with each other," she said.
V Australia is the trading name of Virgin Blue International Airlines.
Amanda Bolger of V Australia said both aircraft were in Nadi air traffic-controlled airspace and were aware each of other. She said neither airline was at fault and the "aircraft altered course to maintain separation".
The Fiji Times says they had information that the Air New Zealand plane had passed the Los Angeles-bound V Australia's nose by two nautical miles with a vertical clearance of 800 feet.
The Air New Zealand plane was flying into Nadi from Auckland.
CAAFI chief executive officer Netava Waqa said in his "position as a regulator", he could not provide details of the incident.
"I am not in a position to comment on the specifics but I want to emphasise that we take these reports very seriously. We are working with our Australian counterparts as they too want to know what we are doing about it," Mr Waqa told the Fiji Times.
"We have completed the first part and the second part has started where we look at the root causes. We will do all we can to prevent this from happening again."
Reports state the Traffic Collision Avoidance System for both planes had gone off to warn the pilots that traffic was approaching at the level they had both been cleared to fly.
Industry experts said with the speed of the aircraft at the time, the action taken by the pilots meant they saved the plane in "seconds".
Fiji aviation authorities have launched an urgent investigation into why an Air New Zealand Boeing 767 nearly collided with a V Australia jet near Nadi, the Fiji Times reports.
It says the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAFI) has confirmed Australian authorities want to know why the two passenger planes with 600 people on board were on a collision course about 100 nautical miles out of Nadi.
The May 7 incident happened around 4pm.
Air New Zealand officials were not available in Auckland for comment on the report, but the Fiji times quoted the airline's Lara Harrison saying the company had received enquiries on the near-miss.
"A Virgin Australia flight passed approximately 10 nautical miles behind an Air New Zealand service operating to Fiji on Friday, 7 May. Both aircraft were in contact with each other," she said.
V Australia is the trading name of Virgin Blue International Airlines.
Amanda Bolger of V Australia said both aircraft were in Nadi air traffic-controlled airspace and were aware each of other. She said neither airline was at fault and the "aircraft altered course to maintain separation".
The Fiji Times says they had information that the Air New Zealand plane had passed the Los Angeles-bound V Australia's nose by two nautical miles with a vertical clearance of 800 feet.
The Air New Zealand plane was flying into Nadi from Auckland.
CAAFI chief executive officer Netava Waqa said in his "position as a regulator", he could not provide details of the incident.
"I am not in a position to comment on the specifics but I want to emphasise that we take these reports very seriously. We are working with our Australian counterparts as they too want to know what we are doing about it," Mr Waqa told the Fiji Times.
"We have completed the first part and the second part has started where we look at the root causes. We will do all we can to prevent this from happening again."
Reports state the Traffic Collision Avoidance System for both planes had gone off to warn the pilots that traffic was approaching at the level they had both been cleared to fly.
Industry experts said with the speed of the aircraft at the time, the action taken by the pilots meant they saved the plane in "seconds".
nearly collided with
passed approximately 10 nautical miles behind
both aircraft were in Nadi air traffic-controlled airspace and were aware each of other
they saved the plane in "seconds".
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A few other factors may be in play here.
On the Auckland Nadi track, the junction between Nadi Oceanic and "Domestic" airspace is at 100 nm from the Nadi DME which is located on a hill just to the NW of the Airport. And if the Air NZ was destined for Nadi then the change from oceanic control happens some distance (20 - 40 miles) outside the 100 nm rep point.
Nadi is a proceedural environment, NO RADAR, so the separation standards are substantially larger than a radar environment that we are in most of the time.
TCAS systems, depending on the make and model of the equipment fitted to your aircraft will pick up and display other "targets" at often a considerable distance. When you get the "Traffic Traffic" warning and a Resolution Advisory it is then that there is a question of whether the separation standards have been maintained.
If the Air NZ 767 was bound for Honolulu via overhead Fiji, then they would have remained with the Oceanic controller removing the two controller/ airspace level of the "Swiss Cheese".
On the Auckland Nadi track, the junction between Nadi Oceanic and "Domestic" airspace is at 100 nm from the Nadi DME which is located on a hill just to the NW of the Airport. And if the Air NZ was destined for Nadi then the change from oceanic control happens some distance (20 - 40 miles) outside the 100 nm rep point.
Nadi is a proceedural environment, NO RADAR, so the separation standards are substantially larger than a radar environment that we are in most of the time.
TCAS systems, depending on the make and model of the equipment fitted to your aircraft will pick up and display other "targets" at often a considerable distance. When you get the "Traffic Traffic" warning and a Resolution Advisory it is then that there is a question of whether the separation standards have been maintained.
If the Air NZ 767 was bound for Honolulu via overhead Fiji, then they would have remained with the Oceanic controller removing the two controller/ airspace level of the "Swiss Cheese".
When you get the "Traffic Traffic" warning and a Resolution Advisory it is then that there is a question of whether the separation standards have been maintained.
Bloggs, that depends. Sometimes the TCAS will give warnings based on current rates of descent and/or climb because it doesn't know the aircraft will be leveling off shortly. So a TCAS advisory can be a nuisance warning (which is not to say you shouldn't follow it of course.)
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I'm with Owen! Oceanic E across the Pacific! Get rid of those pesky separation requirements. After all what are the chances........?
........the chances are........Vanishingly Small!! 
That just sounds like normal ATC separation in Fiji - wait until one of the aircraft calls with a "TCAS Climb" and then do nothing - problem solved!
Wait until there is ADS-B working up there... Oh wait it already is, but no one knows how to use it!
Wait until there is ADS-B working up there... Oh wait it already is, but no one knows how to use it!
