Only luck averts mid-air crash at CJIA

Dec 07, 2008 News

Existing Air Traffic Control Systems in Guyana not safe – Report

“The existing (Air Traffic Control) ATC system in Guyana is NOT SAFE and it is not the fault of the persons tasked with operating the system.”

That comment was contained in a report by Captain Gregory Fox, who was asked to conduct an investigation following the near collision of an incoming Delta Airline flight out of Cheddi Jagan International Airport and an outgoing Caribbean Airlines flight on October 7 last.

The report was submitted on November 18, last. The Delta Airline flight departed Piarco International Airport in Trinidad at about noon and climbed to its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet heading to Georgetown.

At 12:04 hours the Delta flight DAL 383 was estimated to reach its point of entry into Guyana at 12:23 hours and it conveyed this information to Trinidad which, via voice link, relayed this information to Georgetown and approved the incoming flight but did not post the flight plan strip on the controller board.

The controller, being relieved, immediately coordinated the Delta flight’s estimated time of arrival with the Timehri Tower and during the same conversation accepted a request from the Tower to clear the Caribbean Airlines flight BW 484 to Piarco.

“At 12:05 the controller who was about to be relieved then issued clearance to BW 484.”
The Caribbean Airlines flight departed at 12:13 hours. “At 12:15, BW 484 contacted the Air Control Centre and reported out of 4,400 feet climbing to 38,000 feet. At 12:30 BW 484 pilot stated that “they had noted proximate traffic on its Terminal Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) meaning traffic within six nautical miles or 1,200 feet of the BW 484 altitude.

At about the same time the Delta flight reported that it had traffic in sight. The Caribbean Airlines flight pilot took evasive action “by making a right turn through 60 degrees to effect traffic separation.”

The Delta pilot reported seeing a Terminal Collision Avoidance System display and reported seeing BW 484 within two or three miles and within 200 feet of its altitude passing from west to east. The Delta pilot had seen the Caribbean Airlines flight in its turn.

The report stated that “the report relates only to the two aircraft involved in this occurrence.” “In fact, there were many more transmissions and much more workload for the controller related to other aircraft and flight plans.

“Weather was not a factor in this occurrence. Flight conditions reported in the report filed by the captain of the Delta flight, was clear, scattered clouds below.”

The report added that this is the second dangerous loss of separation (near collision) in the Georgetown area since last May. “These are not the only such incidents that have occurred over the years.”

The report added that the air traffic controllers are forced to work long hours of overtime to provide the service and to work shorthanded on busy shifts.

“This is a clear recipe for trouble and the complaints from Caribbean Airlines, local operators and the recent losses of separation (near collisions) that have already occurred are stark warning signals that it is only luck that has so far prevented a mid-air disaster like that in Brazil.

“As this situation persists, so does the high risk of catastrophe that Guyana cannot afford to have.”
The lack of Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) compounds the difficulty for the controllers to establish the position of aircraft and provide better separation. The Distance Measuring Equipment at CJIA has been unserviceable for many years, the report added.

Commenting on the conditions under which the Air Traffic Controllers work, the report stated, “They are all working under relatively primitive conditions with a shortage of trained staff.”

The Civil Aviation Authority is having trouble attracting and retaining suitable recruits let alone retaining their core group of experienced controllers.

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport came in for further criticism. “The runway lighting control panel in the tower is unserviceable (it was unserviceable in 2004 when the investigator last visited).

The report added that none of the electronic data displays for barometer, temperature or wind display are working in the tower.

“During the daytime the controllers in the tower estimate the wind from the windsocks on the field in the Air Traffic Control Centre; they do the same if they can see a windsock, or they use the flag in the nearby Texaco fuel compound. At night all the controllers use the flag in the Texaco compound to estimate wind speed and direction.

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