12 months ago now, the IFALPA Flight Safety Committee recommended that, (and I quote): "- all aviation GPS and other air navigation equipment of comparable accuracy contain a small embedded offset to the right that will protect against this increased risk of head-on collision. This offset should be built directly into the equipment, so that no operator procedure is required. The offset would be cancelled only for approaches, at a suitable point in the approach."
In the same article, the Committee notes that "..for the first time, the probable navigation error may well be contained within the dimensions of the airframe"
and "If two aircraft are flying on reciprocal tracks using GPS, and they do not have adequate vertical separation, they will almost assuredly collide."
Anyone who has seen aircraft repeatedly go directly over or under them up to a thousand miles from the nearest navigation beacon will have no difficulty agreeing with this very sobering assessment.
Now, given the proximity to Delhi and the types of aircraft involved, I accept that IRS/GPS accuracy was unlikely to have been a major factor in this incident (if a factor at all). However I would suggest that a high proportion of pilots reading this fly aircraft that are IRS or GPS-equipped. Therefore, can I suggest that you ALL start pressuring your individual airline's management and Flight Safety Departments to institute this suggestion by IFALPA without delay? - and go one pressuring them until they do something about it?
Having something like this approved by the many regulatory authorities who will want to become involved will take some time, (I'd suggest years!), even before such a change can be written into commercial FMS databases. In the meantime, why not speak to your Fleet Captain and Flight Safety Departments about having your airline amend their SOPs to have crews write in a ONE MILE RIGHT OFFSET into their IRS/GPS on passing through 10,000' in the climb. If everyone with IRS/GPS does it, we will be doubling the separation. I have spoken to ICAO regulator about this, and he is very much in favour of it, and I know a number of pilots in my own airline are doing it - including this little black duck.
I know there are a lot of you out there who don't fly IRS-equipped aircraft and I also appreciate that this is not a panacea. Nothing is, but anything that reduces the risk of another disaster like the Saudi/Kazhak collision has to be worth pursuing.
Chris Young