Vic: Near miss report proves big fuss over nothing: pilot

AAP General News (Australia)
12-19-2003
Vic: Near miss report proves big fuss over nothing: pilot

By Mariza Fiamengo

MELBOURNE, Dec 19 AAP - A report which found a Cessna and a Virgin passenger flight
did not have a near miss north of Melbourne proved a big fuss was being made over nothing,
the Cessna pilot said today.

At no stage did the planes come closer than 2.7km in distance and 121 metres in height
on December 3, according to the report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

Earlier this month, air controllers and the federal opposition called for the scrapping
of new air traffic control rules after claiming the two aircraft were within 20 seconds
of colliding.

Adelaide-based citrus fruit grower John Knispel, 55, said he never felt in any danger
during the incident and compared it to one car overtaking another on a freeway.

"I couldn't believe it, the fuss that was made," the pilot with 40 years flying experience
told AAP.

"I had dismissed the incident a couple of minutes after it happened because it really
wasn't an incident at all.

"I have had a lot of experience in aviation and I had seen that happen on many occasions
and no fuss was made about it."

The ATSB report found the proximity of the Virgin Boeing 737 flying from Coolangatta
to Melbourne and the Cessna C421 flying from country Victoria, was not enough to be deemed
a near miss.

It also found the Virgin flight had the Cessna in sight and had slowed its rate of
descent to keep safe distance.

The Cessna changed course on air controllers instructions so it could make an instrument-controlled
approach to Melbourne which required a greater difference between the aircraft.

Virgin head of strategy and communications David Huttner said the report confirmed
that its pilots and safety teams acted professionally during the incident.

"Both our pilots and safety team as well as Qantas' will certainly look at the report,
review the report to see if there's anything further we can learn from this experience,"

he said.

"But it's clear to us that some of the statements made by other parties were not well founded."

A spokesman for Transport Minister John Anderson has called on Labor transport spokesman
Martin Ferguson and Civil Air to apologise for "their blatant scaremongering over the
non-incident" before it was investigated.

"Basically there is no question that the new airspace caused the problem," he said.

"There was no threat to safety."

But Civil Air president Ted Lang said the ATSB had no alternative but to make an acceptable
finding, as the incident occurred under the downgraded airspace regime.

AAP mf/ce/cjh/de

KEYWORD: AIRSPACE DAYLEAD

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