Pilots ‘unaware’ of position caused near crash

A commercial flight came within 22m of a collision with a training flight because the pilots were unaware of each other’s position.

A Virgin Australia Regional Airlines’ ATR 72 like the one involve in the near collision at Albury.

The final report on a “near collision” between a training flight and a commercial passenger service has revealed the two aircraft came within 22m of a crash because both pilots were oblivious to the other’s position.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report said the Piper PA-28 turned in front of the Virgin Australia ATR 72 as both came into land at Albury Airport on October 19, 2019.

As a result, vertical separation between the aircraft was reduced to 22m, and horizontal separation to 110m.

The Piper, operated by the Australian Airline Pilot Academy in Wagga Wagga, had a student pilot and instructor on board while the ATR 72 was carrying 66 passengers and four crew.

The ATSB report found neither pilot was aware of the position of the other aircraft despite the Piper being told to follow the ATR 72.

“The pilot of (the Piper) advised the ATSB that when (the Virgin aircraft) was first sighted, it was so close that the pilot lowered the nose of the aircraft to increase separation,” said the report.

The incident triggered the traffic collision avoidance system on the Virgin ATR72, and the pilots executed a missed approach.

Air traffic control was unaware of the developing near collision, the report said, as the controller was “not effectively monitoring the aircraft” due to their attention being focused elsewhere.

The pilot of the Piper was an international student who only obtained their private pilots licence the day before, and was doing a navigation exercise as part of the commercial pilot licence syllabus, the report said.

In the case of the Virgin crew, they were aware of another aircraft but did not receive information about it and did not assess where it was in relation to their approach.

ATSB transport safety director Stuart Macleaod said the circumstances of the near collision illustrated the “danger of assumption and incomplete situational awareness”.

“As the Piper was operating under visual flight rules, separation between the two aircraft was the pilots’ responsibility, and the pilots on both aircraft made incorrect assumptions about both each other’s movements, rather than taking positive action to confirm that adequate separation would be maintained,” said Mr Macleod.

He said a number of safety actions had stemmed from the occurrence and the ATSB investigation.

This included discussions among industry stakeholders and operators on the ongoing risk to air operations at airports with non-controlled airspace, such as Albury, Mr Macleod said.

Virgin Australia no longer operates ATR 72s, after making the decision to go with an all Boeing 737 fleet as a result of the airline’s administration.