near mid-air collision?

RE: near mid-air collision?

i agree with Kev….’live’ training is the best thing. There even the trainee will know that there is no margin for error.

RE: near mid-air collision?

Mongu,

I think in this kind of job you have to do ‘live’ training to understand and become accustomed to the pressure you will be working under. I expect they spend a great deal of time using simulators or exercises and the like. However, in a sim they have no chance of actually killing several hundred people. Air traffic control is something I would have liked to have done in a dream world but I realised I have neither the aotitude or the talent for such a job.

Regards,

kev35

RE: near mid-air collision?

Why do trainees have to “go live”?

Surely, they can sit behind a screen whilst a real controller inputs aircraft movements from a distance – sort of an ATC simulator?

RE: near mid-air collision?

Mongu,

I realise the BBC were talking about vertical separation, but obviously it sounds more drsmatic. Coming within 2 or 300 feet vertically does sound close, but not nearly so bad when you realise the aircraft were two miles apart laterally. Plus the aircraft’s own collision avoidance systems should ensure collisions are avoided.

The question of whether or not it is right to have a trainee controller working the system is silly really. They have to learn on the job and that is why they are supervised. This happens in most jobs/professions. Even surgeons have to practice, but seeing as you are unconscious at the time, a lot of that worry is taken away.

Regards,

kev35

RE: near mid-air collision?

its happened to frequently in Europe, never expected these kind of things.

RE: near mid-air collision?

The BBC article refers to vertical separation, whereas the ITN one is talking about laterlal, kev.

That’s my immediate reaction, anyway.

RE: near mid-air collision?

Isn’t it funny how we get differing versions of events? ITN news stated that the aircraft were separated by a lateral distance of two miles when the er, misunderstanding was brought under control.

Regards

kev35

RE: near mid-air collision?

I have my doubts as to the efficacy of NATS.

On the other hand, pilots used to be really confused by the A320 before they understood how it worked – like the AF jet which crashed at he Paris air show.

Like pilots transitioning from say, 727 to A320, they suddenly had a totally new design philosophy to figure out on top of everything else.

So maybe controllers need proper training.

RE: near mid-air collision?

Very bad. One day, we´ll have a serious thing.

RE: near mid-air collision?

I love the way a Trainee can immediately become a regular in the tower and not have anyone watching his actions. This could have been fatal causing several hundred deaths.

RE: near mid-air collision?

BA jets in near-miss:

Fresh safety fears were raised today over Britain’s new air traffic control centre after two British Airways jets came within seconds of a mid-air crash due to a computer failure.

Nats, the National Air Traffic Services, has launched an investigation into the nearmiss, which happened when a trainee controller told a Boeing 777 bound for Heathrow to descend 8,000 ft – without realising that a 737, also preparing to land, was 3,000 ft below.

An instructor monitoring the trainee on Monday at 8.10am saw a “conflict alert” pressed an override button to send an emergency message to the pilots – but the computer failed to respond.

The trainee then ordered the pilot of the 777, which was coming in from Rio de Janeiro, to stop 1,000 ft above the 737, from Valencia. However, the 777 ended up only 500 ft above the other plane – forcing the trainee to warn the 737 to “take avoiding action”.

• British airline services were returning to normal today after two days of travel misery caused by strike action by air traffic controllers on the Continent. A spokesman for Gatwick airport said today: “It has been a nightmare week but things are finally getting back to normal.”
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