Loss of separation due to ATC resolved by TCAS at Brussels Airport

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luchtzak
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Re: Abnormalities in BRU-ANR-CRL-LGG-OST in 2018

Post by luchtzak »

A near-miss near Leuven?

DIBO
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Re: Abnormalities in BRU-ANR-CRL-LGG-OST in 2018

Post by DIBO »

luchtzak wrote: 24 Apr 2018, 20:49 A near-miss near Leuven?
certainly a loss of separation east of Leuven
EBBR_20180223_LoS.jpg
[rumour mode]
AEA1172 took off 07R - CIV7J departure - moderate rate of climb - right turn to CIV at 8 DME BUB - reaching FL70 briefly descended @1200fpm
DLH4Y follows shortly after from 07R - SPI 5J dept. - good rate of climb - right turn REMBA at 5 DME BUB - reducing rate of climb/leveling off around FL75 before continuing the climb
[/rumour mode]

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sn26567
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Loss of separation due to ATC resolved by TCAS at Brussels Airport

Post by sn26567 »

The Aviation Herald today publishes an interesting case that occurred in February 2018 at Brussels Airport.

Two planes (Air Europa E195 and Lufthansa A320) departing from runway 07R at a 2 minutes interval. After following the instructions of a trainee controller, the aircraft ended up being as close as 400 feet vertically and 1.3nm horizontally. They followed their TCAS resolution advisories rather than ATC instructions, and separation was restored at 1000 feet vertically between the aircraft.

The Belgian AAIU issued its final report today. Among the potential causes of the incident: the trainee AATCO was under stress and didn't follow the exact instructions, and his instructor didn't notice a potential conflict.

The report also highlighted a strange fact that was a contributing factor: the design of the departures from EBAW to GILOM and EBBR to REMBA lead to converging courses 'see picture hereunder). The AAIU suggested the necessary modifications.

http://avherald.com/h?article=4dc5a96d
europa_e195_ec-lfz_lufthansa_a320_d-aiui_brussels_180223_2.jpg
André
ex Sabena #26567

DIBO
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Re: Loss of separation due to ATC resolved by TCAS at Brussels Airport

Post by DIBO »

I thought it sounded familiar :-)
viewtopic.php?p=366729#p366729

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sn26567
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Re: Loss of separation due to ATC resolved by TCAS at Brussels Airport

Post by sn26567 »

DIBO wrote: 08 Sep 2020, 21:37 I thought it sounded familiar :-)
viewtopic.php?p=366729#p366729
I reunited the posts in this topic ;)
André
ex Sabena #26567

DIBO
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Re: Loss of separation due to ATC resolved by TCAS at Brussels Airport

Post by DIBO »

Strangely enough I find no report on the site of Belgium's Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of another airprox incident in July 2019.

Citationjet departing EBAW rwy 29, handled by a trainee ATCO. Very exceptionally, a non standard right turn departure route towards the east (SONDI??) was given by ATC, instead of the published SID's via a left turn after take-off (https://ops.skeyes.be/html/belgocontrol ... 02_v13.pdf).
The Paraplane from Hoevenen (EBHN) operating north of Antwerp Brussels TMA and in contact with Brussels Departure.
The Citation, not having received any specific instructions about the right turn, maintained runway heading for a while, before starting a wide, large turn. ATC tried to expedite the right turn, first by the trainee, later by another controller taking over, but instructions weren't very clear and initially did not mention any traffic conflict ahead. The Citation was kept on Antwerp TWR frequency longer than usual, when the situation was getting uncomfortable, a handover to Brussels Departure was not an option anymore.
So two almost reciprocal aircraft approaching fast, head on, the same altitude, were on 2 different frequencies (not good for situational awareness).
The paraplane (probably) had no TCAS on board, the blue sky with perfect visibility probably saved the day with the paraplane making a sharp U-turn as avoiding action. The Citation had also visual contact, but given its speed, was more limited in sharp maneuvering.
Airprox EBAW.png
As mentioned several times by @mvg in the Skeyes topic, "no blame culture even in case of serious incident", but not even reporting the incident... Almost the same altitude, converging tracks, less than half a mile lateral separation, in class C airspace....
:roll:

kazansky137
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Re: Loss of separation due to ATC resolved by TCAS at Brussels Airport

Post by kazansky137 »

DIBO wrote: 12 Sep 2020, 23:03 Strangely enough I find no report on the site of Belgium's Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of another airprox incident in July 2019.
...
I guess the AAIU publish only final, approved and closed reports. I do not known the status of this one.
Regards, Alain.

mvg
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Re: Loss of separation due to ATC resolved by TCAS at Brussels Airport

Post by mvg »

It is very difficult to investigate an incident without having the full picture:
- (Real) radar images (flightradar24 isn’t reliable enough to measure a distance between plane precisely)
- recordings of the frequencies
- testimony of the controllers and pilots
- any other info about external factors that might have contributed to the incident (weather, technical issue (ATC or on board), fatigue, distraction and so on)

Incidents must be reported by controllers and pilots: it is mandatory. Non blame culture in ATC is applied if the incident is reported.

We could go deeper into the subject explaining how incidents are investigated in ATC (in Belgium and elsewhere) and airlines if anyone wishes to.

Facts:
- lessons aren’t learned from past incidents: the one with the two departures following each other is a recurrent one
- when an incident happens and a trainee is working, the controller instructing is responsible, not the trainee.
- controllers instructing are poorly trained to react in case of incident.

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