How to Avoid a Mid Air Collision?

How to Avoid a Mid Air Collision?

 

Last Month’s there was a terror in the air as two Boeing 747 planes narrowly missed a dramatic Mid-Air Collision above Scotland.  According to what I read on the news the information about this incident was very disconcerting by the appropriate authorities who are investigating the incident, also is very important to consider these delicate events for the prevention of future incidents like this one. I’m writing this words on my Safety Blog for review why causes of Midair’s and how to avoid a Mid Air Collision in the future if you as a Pilot are involved in any , you never know , the most important is to understand well what causes in flight collisions ??

The two planes carrying about 1000 passengers on board escaped a possible crash which was about to emerge after pilots misunderstood the flight instructions received from the air traffic control tower.

So, the controller saw that the two huge aircraft were too close to one another as they were 48 kilometers (29 miles) north of Scotland’s capital of Glasgow and preparing to cross the Atlantic. So he ordered the pilots to take different directions.

The danger was first noticed when the 747s were 16 kilometers(10 miles )separately, but after a minute they were 5 km (3 miles )  away and still closing in.

The ATC rapidly told the plane on the left to make a left turn and the one on the right to make a right turn in order to get more separated.

But impressively, all pilots apparently misunderstood the instructions and instead of moving apart, they brought the two jets very close together, as close as 30 meters from each other.

A tragedy was avoided at the last moment when the pilots on each plane saw each other and performed evasive maneuvers with one aircraft going up and the other moving down.

This was investigated by the corresponding authorities and cannot explain how all four pilots confused the correct instructions. The incident was uncovered and presented by the correspondent authorities   which analyses the events what’s going in the airspace.

 

On my previous post I wrote something about a good understanding of the TCAS, I cannot say whether if the crews of the both planes received some resolution advisories (RA) when altitude encoding intruders come within 30 seconds of CPA , the computers calculates the vertical rate that must be achieved to maintain safe operation from threat aircraft . So, the most important is to understand that when corrective (RA) are required, the aural advisories include: Traffic, Traffic, Climb, Climb, Climb, Descend, Descend, Climb  Crossing Climb, Descend Crossing Descend, Reduced Climb or Reduced Descend .

These are considered normal (RAs) If no corrective action is needed, the alert is called a preventative RAs, and the aural advisory is Monitor Vertical Speed. And after an intruder aircraft is no longer a threat, the aural message is Clear of Conflict. I’m sure that any Pilot in particular understands very well the operation and the concept of the TCAS.

 

But, what causes in flight collisions? Well, if you read what FAA authors said regarding this issue you can better understand what I want to express, I want to share to all pilots to be up-to-date concerning what I’m writing today.

By definition and function, the human eye is one of the most important and complex systems in the world. Basically, its job is to accept images from the outside world and transmit them to the brain for recognition and storage. In other words, the organ of vision is our prime means of identifying and relating to what is going on around us.

It has been estimated that 80 percent of our total information intake is through the eyes. In the air, we depend on our eyes to provide most of the basic input necessary for performing during a flight: attitude, speed, direction, and proximity to things (like the ground), and opposing air traffic that may constitute a danger of in-flight collision. As air traffic density and aircraft closing speeds increase, the problems of in-flight collision grows proportionately, and so does the importance of the "eyeball system." A basic understanding of the eyes' limitation in target detection is probably the best insurance a pilot can have against running into another airplane - something that can spoil your whole day.

So, my only purpose of this series of information is concerning How to Avoid a Mid Air Collision and also is to provide all the Aviation Community around the world who read my Blog with safety information that is informative for the prevention of future incidents and accidents.

Keep in mind no matter how many hours you have logged on your Log Book, or how many years are you flying as a Pilot the most important is to be up dated all the time, be alert, expect the unexpected Safety begin with Team Work. Always Fly Safely !!!