Air NZ pilots' fast reaction helped avert midair crash

Air New Zealand Bombardier. Photo / Supplied

Air New Zealand pilots helped to avert a midair disaster that air traffic controllers failed to spot as their plane came within a few hundred feet of a light aircraft, an inquiry has found.

The Air New Zealand Bombardier, carrying 31 passengers and three crew on a scheduled flight from Auckland to Tauranga, nearly collided with the single-pilot Cessna 182 on August 9 last year.

The Cessna, operated by NZ Skydive, had taken off from Mercer aerodrome and had just dropped four parachutists.

The planes came dangerously close at a height of about 10,000 feet (3048m) near Mercer - with the pilot of the Cessna reporting that he could see the details of the Bombadier clearly as he passed.

The actions of the pilots on the Air New Zealand aircraft in avoiding the other aircraft were noted by accident investigators.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission said the flightpaths of both aircraft had been cleared by air traffic controllers at Auckland Airport who did not recognise the developing situation and missed an automated collision warning.

Click here for the full report.

As the Air New Zealand aircraft's sensors detected the Cessna, the first officer disconnected the autopilot and made an immediate descent, a manoeuvre described by the pilots as "moderate".

The inquiry's report said that had these actions not been taken, available data showed that the aircraft would have passed within 200 feet (61m) of each other. After the incident, the Cessna pilot said the other plane had passed about 400 feet below him and he had had no time to react.

The crew of the Air New Zealand aircraft saw the Cessna pass "very close" overhead.

The captain tried calling Auckland control several times before he was able to report the incident, stating, "Control ... We missed a white 172 by about 200 feet, would have been a collision."

This was the controller's first realisation that a possible conflict had occurred. Soon afterwards the pilot of the Cessna also reported the incident to Auckland control, stating, "Control ... a link aircraft passed underneath me about 500 feet."

The commission made several recommendations to improve air safety, including a review of some procedures at Mercer because it is near a busy international airport.

It also recommended that more be done to look at the performance of individual air traffic controllers and to reduce communications errors.

- NZPA, staff reporter