A helicopter and a RAF jet came close to a “potentially disastrous” crash above a Scottish island, the report of an official probe released today has revealed.
Investigators said the incident highlighted the need of
the previously cancelled Tornado Collision Warning System which is now
planned to be fitted to the fleet this year.
Earlier this year it was revealed that a warning system which could have prevented a fatal crash between
two Tornado jets in Scotland in 2012 was cancelled twelve years after a
commitment to its implementation had first been made by defence chiefs.
Flight
Lieutenant Adam Sanders, Squadron Leader Samuel Bailey and Flight
Lieutenant Hywel Poole were killed when the two Tornado GR4s, based at
RAF Lossiemouth, collided over the Moray Firth.
It
was revealed in December, in a written answer from Tory defence
equipment minister Philip Dunne, that a collision warning system costing
around £60 million for the fighter jets was considered four years
before the fatal crash and that the Government decided in January 2012,
six months before the crash, to tender for a different system developed
by BAE which was £6 million cheaper.
But Angus Robertson, the SNP
MP for Moray, revealed that a Freedom of Information request had
disclosed that the then Conservative Secretary of State for Defence, Dr
Liam Fox, cancelled its installation a full twelve years after a
commitment had been made to do so against the advice of the Military
Aviation Authority. The MAA had warned that, without installation of the
system, they would not be able to certify the risk of collision as
being acceptable
Near miss
The
latest near miss incident involving a Tornado jet to come before the UK
Airpox Board happened on April 10 about 1.5 miles north west of the
Hebridean island of Gigha
The Tornado was conducting a low-level
tactical formation sortie below the 4000 feet cloud base. As he did a
right turn he noticed the helicopter about 500 metres away.
The
Tornado was manoeuvred hard into the turn and descended to avoid the
Eurocopter AS355. The helicopter was flying straight-and-level and was
not seen to manoeuvre.
The Tornado pilot assessed the risk of collision as ‘medium.’
The
helicopter pilot was flying at about 1000ft when he saw a grey Tornado
to his left, coming from the north, just as it broke away to its right
and flew behind him.
He assessed the risk of collision as “potentially disastrous.”
The
UK Airprox Board, which investigates near misses, heard that neither
aircraft was fitted with an Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS)
or True Air Speed (TAS) nor were the pilots in receipt of an Air Traffic
Service (ATS).
“The only effective barrier remaining was lookout.
On this occasion it appears that the Tornado pilot was the first to
visually acquire the other aircraft (albeit late) and immediately took
action to resolve the conflict and increase separation - a manoeuvre
that highlighted his aircraft to the helicopter pilot. Once again this
incident serves as a reminder that effective lookout is crucial....” HQ
Air Command told the investigation.
Risk of collision
The
Board said the cause of the airprox was a late sighting by both pilots
and assessed the risk of collision as B - the second highest rating
where safety was not assured.
“The Board first assessed the
actions of the pilots involved and quickly determined that the cause of
the Airprox had been a late sighting by both pilots,” it said.
“Not
being within ATS coverage, and with neither aircraft having electronic
aids to collision avoidance, both pilots were relying exclusively on
‘see-and-avoid’.
“The Tornado pilot did not see the helicopter
until it passed through his field of view during his right-hand turn,
and the AS355 pilot did not see the Tornado until its pilot broke away
from him.
“The Board postulated that the reasons for the late
sightings could have been that the Tornado pilot might have been
concentrating his lookout on regaining formation integrity as he
manoeuvred, whilst the AS355 pilot might have been in a state of
low-arousal given his apparently benign flight conditions and low
complexity transit task.
“This was not to criticize either of the
pilots but rather to emphasise the importance of effective all-round
lookout at all times. In addition, members noted that, weather and task
permitting, by remaining above 2000ft, airspace users would avoid the
majority of military low-level fast-jet traffic and they heartily
encouraged those conducting simple transits to consider this as an
option.
“Given the difficulties of seeing a grey camouflaged
Tornado against the sea and a relatively slow-moving helicopter on a
constant bearing, the Board opined that an effective mitigation would
also have been provided if one or both aircraft had been fitted with a
TAS or ACAS; in this respect, the Board was heartened that the
previously cancelled Tornado Collision Warning System (CWS) was now
planned for introduction to the Tornado fleet during the current fiscal
year.
“The Board felt that the conditions and dynamics of the
event were pertinent in assessing its risk. Although the Tornado pilot
had reacted correctly to the presence of the helicopter, his closing
speed and late sighting reduced his ability to achieve an appreciable
increase in separation.
“The Board considered that neither pilot
had been in a position to achieve timely and effective collision
avoidance, and that safety margins had been much reduced below the
norm.”
- Source: http://www.scotsman.com
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