Report Urges New Anticollision Measures for Small Planes: Investigators' Findings Challenge Long-Standing Safety Procedures

August 9, 2013, 5:07 a.m. ET

By ANDY PASZTOR

The Wall Street Journal

A Canadian investigation into a 2012 midair collision between two small U.S. planes is challenging long-standing safety procedures relied on by generations of private pilots.

After two private planes flown by federal aviation officials collided over northern Virginia last year, the U.S. government called in Canadian experts to conduct an impartial investigation. Canada's Transportation Safety Board released its findings on Thursday, which could have broad implications because the report concludes air-traffic controllers may have to assume a greater role in protecting flights of small planes flying under visual flight rules in busy airspace.

The fatal May 2012 accident involved a Beechcraft Bonanza, piloted by an employee of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which collided with a Piper PA-28 flown by a Federal Aviation Administration employee. Occurring in good weather at 1,800 feet, the Beechcraft broke up in flight and both people aboard died. The other pilot managed to land in a pasture near a Warrenton, Va., airport and survived.

Both planes were operating under visual flight rules, which make pilots responsible for avoiding midair collisions by requiring them to look out for nearby planes. "This accident shows once again," according to the Canadian experts, "that the see-and-avoid principle is inadequate for preventing collisions between aircraft flying under visual flight rules." The report suggests that relying entirely on such safeguards may be particularly problematic in crowded urban or suburban airspace near airports.

Investigators concluded that "meaningful improvement" to traditional see-and-avoid rules may require installation of new onboard safety technology or increased intervention by air-traffic controllers.

Currently, small private planes referred to as general aviation aircraft aren't obligated to carry automated airborne collision-avoidance technology mandated for all airliners. At the same time, pilots of such private planes flying under visual flight rules frequently aren't required to be in contact with any controllers on the ground.

In the Warrenton accident, the probe found that both planes were operating in accordance with applicable federal safety rules. But investigators couldn't determine precisely why the pilots failed to spot each other, or whether they were on the same air-traffic control radio frequency. Warrenton is a Washington, D.C., suburb that has traffic overhead from Dulles International Airport and other, smaller fields.

The Piper's pilot was in radio contact with a controller, whose screen showed an alert about a potential conflict between the flight paths of the two aircraft. At that point, according to the report, the planes were still nearly a mile apart and separated by the required minimum of 500 feet vertically.

The controller "assessed there was no conflict" or imminent collision threat, according to the report, and returned to ensuring separation of other aircraft flying under instrument flight rules that were deemed to be a higher priority. Controllers have primary responsibility to keep planes apart under instrument flight rules.

About 45 seconds after the alert sounded, the controller refocused attention on the potential conflict between the two small planes and warned the Piper's pilot about nearby traffic, according to the report. But by then, the planes already had collided.

The report emphasizes that the "see-and-avoid concept misleads pilots and controllers by encouraging overconfidence in visual scanning." It also concludes that "a number of viable and economical (onboard) alerting systems exist or are under development" to reduce the risk of midair collisions.

In addition to the option of installing new onboard technology, Canadian experts said enhanced safety initiatives include requiring controllers to begin issuing warnings or alerts to pilots "in all conflict situations."

Source:   http://online.wsj.com 

NTSB Identification: ERA12RA367A 
Accident occurred Monday, May 28, 2012 in Sumerduck, VA
Aircraft: BEECH V35B, registration: N6658R
Injuries: 2 Fatal,1 Serious.

NTSB Identification: ERA12RA367B
Accident occurred Monday, May 28, 2012 in Sumerduck, VA
Aircraft: PIPER PA-28-140, registration: N23SC
Injuries: 2 Fatal,1 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. The foreign authority was the source of this information.

On May 28, 2012, about 1604 eastern daylight time, a Beech V35B, N6658R, and a Piper PA-28-140, N23SC, collided in flight in the vicinity of Sumerduck, Virginia. The Beech was destroyed, and the pilot and flight instructor were fatally injured; the Piper was substantially damaged, and the pilot was seriously injured. Neither of the local flights was operating on a flight plan, and both were being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The Beech departed Warrenton-Fauquier Airport, Warrenton, Virginia, on a flight review for the private pilot, and the Piper departed Culpeper Regional Airport, Culpeper, Virginia, on a personal flight.

The pilot/owner of the Beech was an employee of the NTSB, and the pilot/owner of the Piper was an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Under the provisions of Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation and by mutual agreement, the United States delegated the accident investigation to the government of Canada. The NTSB designated an accredited representative to the investigation on behalf of the United States, and the FAA designated an advisor to the accredited representative.

The investigation is being conducted by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada under its statutes. Further information may be obtained from:

Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Place du Centre
200 Promenade du Portage, 4th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 1K8

Tel: 1 (800) 387-3557
Fax: 1 (819) 997-2239
Email: airops@tsb.gc.ca
Web: http://www.tsb.gc.ca

Occurrence Number: A12H0001

This report is for informational purposes only, and only contains information released by or provided to the government of Canada.