Air Traffic Controller Error Blamed for Near Collision in Shanghai: CAAC
China Aviation Daily | Oct. 12, 2016
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China's aviation watchdog Wednesday cited air traffic controller error for a near collision of two China Eastern Airlines jets at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport after a preliminary investigation.
On Tuesday noon, an Airbus A320 was given clearance for takeoff on flight MU5643 to Tianjin, while the other A330 had landed from Beijing was crossing the runway to get to its gate.
The quick-thinking captain of the A320 jet took the right action to continue and managed to climb the A320 over the A330. Flight MU5643 continued its flight to Tianjin without further incident while the A330 crossed runway 36L, reaching its parking stand without complications.
After the incident, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) immediately founded a dedicated team to investigate the "serious incident". The regulators have begun examining the cockpit voice recorder and flying data of both aircraft as well as talking with the pilots and the air traffic controller, the administration said.
The preliminary investigation by the CAAC has found that the serious incident was caused by wrong directions given by the control tower.
Further investigations are underway.
On Oct. 15, the CAAC reported that the separation between the aircraft reduced to 19 meters vertical and 13 meters horizontal (wingtip to wingtip) while the A320 climbed over the vertical stabilizer of the A333. Screenshots off and the reconstruction video below.
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