Dangerous near misses are on the rise

class=”sc-3778e872-0 gWjAEa”>

September 10, 2010, a little after eight in the morning. A Darwin Airline Saab 2000 machine approaches for landing at Lugano-Agno TI. At the same time, a Swiss Air Force Pilatus aircraft was en route that had taken off from Locarno TI. In the PC-7 sits a student pilot, his instructor behind him. The PC-7 and the Saab 2000 get so close that the distance is only 61 meters vertically and 926 meters horizontally. The crew of the Saab 2000 was instructed to climb by its own warning system just in time.

According to the Swiss Safety Investigation Board (Sust), the air traffic controller in Lugano had allowed the PC-7 to pass without “sufficiently understanding” the situation. In addition, flight instructors and students had insufficient knowledge of the rules that apply in the airspace.

Accidents in the airspace happen again and again

On 12 February 2015, near Meiringen BE, an accident could only just be avoided: an F-5 Tiger jet almost collided with a private helicopter – the pilot of which did not adhere to the altitude assigned to him. And three kilometers southwest of Thun BE, on March 18, 2021, another helicopter came dangerously close to two Luftwaffe jets during a training flight. Neither the fighters nor the helicopter have collision warning systems.

Such serious incidents happen again and again in Swiss airspace – and the number is increasing. Last year, the Federal Bureau of Civil Aviation (Bazl) recorded a total of 289 safety-related incidents. Think, for example, of aircraft that deviated from the specified route and aircraft that came dangerously close, so that air traffic control had to intervene. “The number of reported air conflicts increased throughout Swiss airspace,” says the latest Bazl security report.

The bureau is particularly concerned about the increasing number of incidents in airspaces in which pilots fly both visual flight rules and instrument flight rules – this mixed traffic typically occurs near airports. If 14 incidents were registered in 2018, there were 90 in 2022. The Bazl is alarmed and now wants to give the subject “top priority”.

Bazl spokesman Christian Schubert says mixed traffic demands a lot of attention from both air traffic control and pilots. There are several reasons for the increase. But: “In most cases, the incidents can be traced back to a lack of ‘situational awareness’ among the pilots” – to a lack of awareness of the danger.

Typical example: The pilot of a business jet prepares to land in instrument flight, he is in contact with air traffic control, but does not know that he must also look out of the cockpit. Such situations can quickly become “challenging or even dangerous.” Especially when there is a lot of traffic.

What could increase security?

Already last year, the agency repeatedly noted dangerous approaches near airports, which were mainly due to false air traffic control expectations – such as the near-crash in Lugano.

An anonymous Sust survey of 241 civilian pilots and flight instructors found that the majority of private and commercial pilots and flight instructors did not understand the essential elements and rules of Delta’s controlled airspace. Pilots had a false sense of security. Sust spoke of a “considerable safety deficit”.

The Bazl tackles the issue time and time again in working groups, in flying clubs and schools, says spokesman Schubert. The ‘Watch out for traffic’ video campaign aims to raise awareness.

For example, a transponder requirement would increase security. A transponder automatically transmits the respective flight altitude of the pilots. Based on Sust’s recommendations, the Bazl originally wanted to introduce one throughout Switzerland. However, the Swiss Aero Club and several glider organizations rejected this: they considered it disproportionate and doubted that it would really increase safety.

Instead, they now only want to introduce a transponder requirement in “safety-critical zones”. A year ago, the Bazl introduced the first such zone around the airfields Friedrichshafen (D) and Altenrhein SG. The experiences gained are quite positive, says spokesman Christian Schubert.

Source:Blick