TK 773ER vs Citation 525 near-miss over London city

[Denny Yen 0]

This happened in July 2009, but was reported only last Friday. TK 773ER came within 200ft of a mid-air collision with a business jet over London.

 

 

Seconds from disaster: Passenger airliner and business jet in 'near-miss' just 4,000ft over London Olympics site

 

By Ray Massey

Last updated at 9:30 AM on 10th September 2010

 

 

A Heathrow-bound airliner carrying 232 passengers came within 200ft and seconds of a mid-air collision with a business jet over London, an official report revealed yesterday.

 

Aviation authorities said the near miss close to London City Airport and above the Olympics site was due to 'miscommunication' and 'human error'.

 

It was classed as a 'serious incident' and has forced air traffic controllers to introduce strict new safety procedures to prevent a tragedy over the capital.

 

Alarmingly, the authorities admit that the area near London City has been a near-miss blackspot, with 21 planes taking off from the airport since 2004 flying higher than authorised altitude - called a 'bust' - a third of which led to near-misses.

 

The drama happened on July 27 last year after a German-owned Cessna Citation business jet with two crew and one passenger took off from London City Airport, initially heading west.

 

The control tower told the pilot to climb to 3,000ft, but he replied that he would be going to 4,000ft. This so-called 'readback' mistake was not picked up by the London City controller.

 

Lucky escape: A Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 failed to follow commands from three automatic collision-avoidance warnings, which alert pilots to danger when other aircraft get too close (file picture)

 

Near miss: A Citation 525 business jet narrowly avoided a mid-air collision with the Heathrow-bound airliner (file picture)

PLANE PLUNGED 9,000FT IN MAINTENANCE FLIGHT

 

Air investigators called for a tightening of procedures after an easyJet Boeing 737 plunged 9,000ft during a maintenance check flight.

There was 'confusion between the two pilots' as the aircraft pitched nose-down before control was recovered in the skies west of Norwich, an AAIB report said.

The co-pilot had received 'no formal training' to conduct such a flight on the afternoon of January 12, last year.

 

Various elements of the flight 'demonstrated practices which would have been deemed unacceptable in normal operations', the report said.

When things started going wrong, there was 'a lack of any kind of communication' between the pilots and the two observers for more than one-and-a-quarter minutes.

 

The report said that the co-pilot only realised something was wrong when the captain made an emergency PAN call - one stage down from a Mayday call.

 

Meanwhile, one of the observers had been seated on a storage cupboard behind the captain's seat and was not restrained by a safety harness.

 

Meanwhile a Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 airliner carrying 232 passengers and 16 crew, with a trainee pilot at the controls, was heading south towards the Thames, having been cleared to descend from 4,900ft to 4,000ft as it prepared to land at Heathrow.

 

It failed to follow commands from three automatic collision-avoidance warnings, which alert pilots to danger when other aircraft get too close.

 

As a result, at 2.38pm the planes were flying almost head-on at a closing speed of around 700mph when they crossed paths with a difference in height of between 100ft and 200ft at 4,000ft above the 2012 Olympics site at Stratford.

 

The business jet crew saw the airliner 'in time to take effective avoiding action'. But the pilot of the passenger jet did not see the other plane.

 

Officials added that the only person on the Turkish Boeing to see the Citation was an 'off-duty' pilot with no operational control who was occupying the right observer 'jump-seat' and who saw it 'pass west of them at an estimated 100 to 200ft below'.

 

The Civil Aviation Authority said: 'Basically you are talking about human error.

 

'The Citation pilot got it wrong and the controller didn't pick up on the fact he got it wrong National Air Traffic Services has now changed its procedures on the way it communicates to the pilot about the route and the heights they want to fly, and the way they check that the pilot has actually understood what he should have understood.'

 

The British Airline Pilots' Association said co-ordination needed to be improved between the departures from London City Airport, from which many business jets fly, and Heathrow arrivals.

 

Drama in the sky: The Citation 525 jet passed just half a mile away and only 100ft to 200ft below the Turkish Airlines' Boeing 777 passenger plane above London City Airport on July 27

[Hakan 2]

According some news and reports, Cessna 525 hasn't got TCAS-II system. TCAS-II is not mandatory to below specific weight aircrafts such as small planes, small bizjets. THY 777 pilots gets three times traffic alerts but system was not capable TA/RA options becouse , TA/RA does work with both aircraft have the same system. REgular TCAS just only shows position on TCAS display but plane just can receive only TA=traffic alert , RA=resulation alert doesn't work becouse system doesn't know other plane what does doing!

 

British Transport Safety Bureau should be focus on their air traffic controllers firstly.Thames area is very crowded section and Heathrow approach course is very attractive area. I don't know both aircraft in the same frequency at that time becouse THY planes should be in "london directory" for approach phase.THY Pilots should be trust to controllers in that crowded area becouse I'm sure there are a lot of sign which are climbing and descending on navigation display at that time.

[Hakan 2]

sorry, my fault;

 

TA=traffic alert advisory , RA=resulation alert advisory

Edited September 15, 2010 by Hakan

[Pieter C. 5]

Another TK mishap happened last monday in Canada:

 

Incident: THY A332 and Air Canada A320 at Toronto on Sep 4th 2010, takeoff clearance with landing aircraft still on runway

 

A THY Turkish Airlines Airbus A330-200, registration TC-JNC performing flight TK-17 from Istanbul Ataturk (Turkey) to Toronto,ON (Canada), was in the landing roll on Toronto's runway 24R.

 

An Air Canada Airbus A320-200, registration C-FZUB performing flight AC-147 from Toronto,ON to Vancouver,BC (Canada), was cleared to position on runway 24R and wait.

 

The Canadian TSB reported, that TK-17 was subsequently cleared to exit right onto taxiway C4, then right on D4 and contact ground. Immediately thereafter the controller cleared AC-147 for takeoff from runway 24R. TK-17 stopped without clearing the runway prompting AC-147 to reject takeoff. The Airbus A320 came to a stop after about 2000 feet ground run, taxied back to the takeoff position and departed some time later.

 

NAV Canada reported, that TK-17 was exiting the runway onto taxiway C4. While the aircraft was taxiing onto the taxiway AC-147 was cleared for takeoff. TK-17 stopped on taxiway C4 however on the wrong side of the hold short line. AC-147 rejected their takeoff and taxied back to the 24R hold bay where the crew waited for about 30 minutes until brakes had cooled down before departing again.

 

AC-147 reached Vancouver with a delay of 40 minutes as a result.

 

The Canadian TSB is assessing the level of investigation.