The UK Airprox Board has ruled that the 27 October near-collision between a Flybe Dash 8 Q400 and a pair of Royal Air Force Hawks happened because the Q400 pilots did not see the Hawks, and the Hawk pilots saw the Q400 too late to take avoiding action. The aircraft were in uncontrolled (Class G) airspace in visual meteorological conditions, so although the Q400 was receiving a radar information service and had filed an instrument flight rules flight plan, separation in Class G airspace is still “see-and-avoid”.
A controller providing a radar information service to aircraft in uncontrolled airspace is not responsible for separation, says the report, and a higher level of surveillance is not an option. Both aircraft had the right to be where they were, says the board.
Had the lead Hawk’s transponder been working, the controller would have known the formation’s height and could have provided crucial information to the Q400 crew. But with the Hawk’s transponder inoperative, the controller’s short-term conflict alert and the Q400’s airborne collision avoidance system were also useless.
Source: Flight International