An investigation was launched after a Cathay Pacific (SEHK: 0293) plane and a Dragonair jet carrying more than 600 passengers and crew between them had to take evasive action when they strayed into each other's path as they flew into Hong Kong.
Collision warning alarms sounded in the cockpits of the Cathay Pacific flight from New York with 299 passengers and 18 crew members on board, and the Dragonair flight from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, carrying 284 passengers and 12 crew as both planes approached Chek Lap Kok on September 18.

The two planes came within 2,000 metres of each other. They headed towards each other as they circled the airport amid congested airspace caused by bad weather, which led to several flights being diverted.

Traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) alarms went off in the cockpits of both planes and the pilot of the Cathay Pacific flight descended while the pilot of the Dragonair flight climbed to put a safe distance between the two aircraft.

An air traffic controller said the airspace over Hong Kong was so congested at the time of the incident that the Dragonair flight then came too close to another plane waiting to land and had to change direction for a second time. The airlines, however, say there was only one incident. A spokeswoman for both Cathay Pacific and Dragonair yesterday confirmed the initial incident and said the matter had been reported to the Civil Aviation Department for an investigation.

During the same period, she said, eight other Cathay Pacific aircraft had to divert to Taipei, Kaohsiung, Macau and Guangzhou while a Cathay Pacific flight from London was kept in a holding pattern for so long that it made an emergency landing request.

The incidents come amid record numbers of inbound and outbound flights from Hong Kong and complaints from air traffic controllers that staff members are under increasing strain to cope with a rising workload.

The Cathay Pacific spokeswoman said in a statement that there had been a "loss of separation" between the Cathay Boeing 777-300ER flight CX 841 from New York and Dragonair Airbus A330 flight KA433 from Kaohsiung at 1.13pm on September 18.

"The CX841 and KA433 aircraft were at the same altitude southwest of HKIA [Hong Kong International Airport] when a loss of separation resulted," she said. "The pilots of the two aircraft properly responded to their respective traffic collision avoidance system warnings and advisories, with KA433 climbing and CX841 descending immediately to resolve the conflict and maintain appropriate separation."

Both planes landed safely, the Cathay Pacific flight touching down at 1.45pm and the Dragonair flight 14 minutes later.

The spokeswoman said: "There was no risk of collision and at no time was the safety of the flights compromised. At the closest, they were one nautical mile [1,852 metres] apart when abeam from each other with increasing vertical separation."

One air traffic controller said: "Although the weather was a contributing factor, the whole situation illustrated there was no contingency plan, no backup and supervisors responsible for a general overview of traffic were covering traffic positions. Once again the staffing situation is glaringly obvious.

"When the Dragonair plane turned away it was involved in a breakdown separation with a third aircraft.

"The controllers on duty described it afterwards as a near-collapse of the air traffic control system."

The air traffic controller said about 40 controllers had been assigned to a project connected to the new air traffic control centre at Chek Lap Kok.

Meanwhile, he said, traffic levels had exploded. "It's not unusual to have in excess of 200 aircraft parked on the airfield at 7am any morning. Surely this is a serious indication of the traffic levels that we are now dealing with," the controller said.

A Civil Aviation Department spokeswoman yesterday confirmed the incident. She said the controller on the ground had taken appropriate corrective action "in a calm and timely matter".

The department is conducting an investigation.

Bien que ce soi un 777-300ER de Cathay
ça n'empêche pas The Standard de faire
apparaitre un B747 sur le dessin/photo montage !!

On peut aussi se demander pourquoi cet incident (assez sérieux me semble-t-il) n'est rapporté, par des fuites dans la presse, plus de 8 jours après les évènements.
…..

Les rapports de " nearmidair collision " n' ont pas vocation à être tous publiés voire communiqués , comme les incidents d' avions .


On parle de ce pb depuis le 18 Novembre chez les anglo-saxons , pas içi certes et merci à toi d'introduire le topic.

Bonne soirée !

La polémique locale tourne autour de l' organisation locale ATC ( staffing )

Un Boeing de la compagnie hongkongaise Cathay Pacific et un Airbus de sa filiale Dragon Air transportant 600 passagers au total ont évité une collision in extremis le 18 septembre à l'atterrissage à Hongkong, a-t-on appris mardi de sources officielles.

L'incident s'est produit entre un Boeing 777 de la Cathay Pacific en provenance de New York et un Airbus A330 de Dragon Air en provenance de Taïwan. Les deux gros porteurs ont fini à 2 000 mètres l'un de l'autre, sans cesser de se rapprocher, après que la tour de contrôle de l'aéroport de Hongkong leur a demandé de différer leur atterrissage pour cause de mauvaises conditions météo.

A SIX SECONDES DE LA CATASTROPHE

La collision a été évitée à quelques secondes près, selon des experts, mais les compagnies ont écarté tout risque réel d'accrochage. "A aucun moment la sécurité des vols n'a été compromise", a assuré un porte-parole de la Cathay. "Au plus près, ils étaient distants d'un mile nautique (2 000 mètres)", mais les pilotes ont promptement répondu aux alertes des dispositifs d'évitement de collision, selon lui.

L'avion de la Dragon Air est monté, tandis que celui de la Cathay est descendu, pour se retrouver dans un couloir distinct. Le Boeing s'est ensuite posé sans encombres avec ses 299 passagers et 18 membres d'équipage, suivi, 14 minutes plus tard, par l'Airbus, qui transportait 284 passagers et 12 membres d'équipage.

Selon l'ancien responsable de l'aviation civile de Hongkong, Albert Lam, les avions étaient à six secondes de la catastrophe. A cette distance et à cette vitesse, "le risque de collision était très élevé. Les passagers reviennent de loin", a-t-il confié au quotidien gratuit The Standard. La direction de l'aviation civile hongkongaise a ouvert une enquête.

Oui, c'est un miracle... si les 2 avions avait monté ou descendu en même temps, nous aurions eu un enooorme accident !

Oui, c'est un miracle... si les 2 avions avait monté ou descendu en même temps, nous aurions eu un enooorme accident !