Near-miss inquiry clears Auckland

Press, 31 October 1986, Page 29

Near-miss inquiry clears Auckland

PA Auckland The air traffic control at Auckland Airport has been cleared of any blame for the near-miss of a Continental Airlines DCIO and a Qantas Boeing 747 over the Tasman Sea.

An inquiry by the Civil Aviation Division has found that the operating techniques and procedures used in the unit at the time of the incident on October 19, were correct.

The near-miss occurred while the DCIO was flying from Sydney to Auckland and the 747 in the opposite direction.

Sydney air traffic control asked Auckland for permission for the DCIO to increase its altitude to 37,000 ft, to which Auckland agreed.

Sydney then failed to instruct the aircraft to go to the new level and both aircraft passed each other at 35,000 ft.

While the Civil Aviation Division held that the blame rested primarily with Sydney — which Sydney apparently accepted — the question which remained was whether the Auckland unit should have picked up the mistake earlier. But the regional director of airways operations in Auckland, Mr Cliff Latham, said the Auckland inquiry showed that no blame fell on this side of the Tasman. As soon as both aircraft confirmed their altitudes, he said, an Auckland controller had ordered them to separate.