4 March 2008
The UK Airprox Board has published its latest listing of incidents reported by pilots and air traffic controllers, covering the first half of 2007.
You can read the full report (all 275 pages of it) <a href=’http://www.airproxboard.org.uk/docs/423/ukabbk18.pdf’ target=’_blank’>on the Airprox Board website</a>.
There were 75 airprox in the first six months of 2007. Of these, at least 45 involved GA aircraft, a third took place in Class G below 3,000 ft and the largest number happened in the month of June – although there’s a noticeable increase during the year with February seeing four incidents and June seeing 21.
The 2007 numbers are slightly down on the 2006 figures (75 in 2007, 78 in 2006).
Of the 49 GA Airprox events, two were found to have fallen in the Risk A category (where an actual risk of collision existed); 14 were Risk B (where the safety of the aircraft was compromised); and 29 fell into the Risk C category (no risk of collision).
The two Risk A incidents involved a DA42 and a Folland Gnat in private ownership (cause assessed as ‘A non-sighting by the Gnat pilot and effectively a non-sighting by the DA42 instructor’); and in the second instance an ASK21 glider and a A109e helicopter, (‘an effective non-sighting by the A109E pilot and a late sighting by the ASK21 pilot’).
The publication summarises the six most significant causes of airprox involving GA as follows: did not see conflicting traffic (10 incidents); late sighting of conflicting traffic (9); did not separate/poor judgement (6); did not pass or late passing of traffic (5); penetration of CAS/ATZ without clearance (5); flying close to/over glider or paradrop (4).
