Horror as planes narrowly avoid collision above Scotland

AN airliner and a light aircraft came within feet of each other over Fife, an official probe has heard.

The pilot of the ATR42 had been setting-up for the approach into Dundee, when their collision alerts warned of a climbing aircraft at 500ft below their altitude.

That aircraft continued to climb to within 100 feet separation vertically and one nautical mile horizontally.

The ATR 42 pilot assessed the risk of collision as ‘High’.

The incident occurred on September 10, one-and-a-half miles northeast of Glenrothes.

The pilot of the other aircraft, a Cessna 206 (C206), said they had carried out four lifts, all to heights of between 9000 feet and 9700 feet above the Fife airfield.

The C206 pilot recalled having seen no other aircraft on the drop in question and had not been aware of any other aircraft at any level during that lift – other than a second aircraft who they knew to be well clear and to the north of their position.

The first they knew of the incident with the ATR42 had been when informed by the Airport Manager at Fife airport two days later.

The UK Airprox Board, which investigates near misses, said that together with an evolving weather situation, it considered that the lack of situational awareness had contributed to the Cessna pilot not having seen the ATR42 at any stage.

“When determining the risk of the Airprox, the Board considered the reports from both pilots together with that of the controllers involved.

“They noted that, although neither pilot had seen the other aircraft before closest point of approach, the ATR42 pilot had initiated avoiding action due to a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System resolution advisory enabling a minimum separation of 100ft vertically and 1NM horizontally, and that whilst the ATR42 pilot may have wished for more separation, their action had ensured that there had been no risk of collision,” it said.

The Board rated the incident Category C.