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Australia probes near collision of 2 aircraft
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Australian authorities were yesterday investigating how two Qantas passenger planes got so close that it triggered a collision warning alert, forcing them to take evasive action.
The incident happened over southern Australia on Friday and involved two Airbus A330s traveling in opposite directions between Sydney and Perth.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is investigating, said early reports were that the eastbound plane was cruising at 11,887 meters when the westbound plane was given permission to climb from 11,582 meters to 12,192 meters, triggering one of the plane’s traffic collision avoidance systems.
“One of the aircraft, the lower one, asked for clearance to climb; the air traffic controller gave that clearance,” Richard Woodward, vice-president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, told a local TV channel.
“And as they started the climb, they got a collision warning alert from the aircraft and they took evasive action.”
Woodward, a Qantas pilot, said the incident was worrying because the system was “sort of the last line of defense.”
“At that altitude and that speed it’s very difficult for the crews to see and take avoiding action. The aircraft’s doing a kilometer every two seconds or so when they’re closing on each other like that,” he said.
Qantas said that a “loss of separation,” the technical term when planes breach the distance they are required to maintain between each other, happened near Adelaide.
The airline said: “Our pilots followed standard operating procedures in re-establishing the required separation distance following the alert from the onboard notification system. There was no impact to passengers.”
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