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Increase in aircraft near-misses

Incidents are getting more serious and British pilots say safety is being pushed to the limit. But air traffic control officials say the UK system is the safest in the world.

Air traffic controllers reported 71 near misses in 1996, 63 of which involved commercial aircraft.

Of those, there were 26 near misses where there was either a risk of collision or the safety of aircraft was under threat. There were 16 such incidents in 1995 and 13 in 1992 and 1993.

The incidents are reported in an Aircraft Proximity Report prepared by the independent Joint Airprox Assessment Panel.

The report shows the near misses are getting more serious, five of the 26 incidents in 1996 were classified as category A, meaning there was a real risk of a collision between aircraft. In 1995, there was only one category A incident. There were three in 1994, two in 1993 and four in 1992.

Another 21 incidents in 1996 came under category B which means safety was "not assured". There were 15 category B incidents in 1995, eight in 1994, 11 in 1993 and nine in 1992.

The 63 commercial aircraft incidents in total in 1996 compared with 51 in 1995, 41 in 1994, 40 in 1993 and 55 in 1992.

But the CAA says one of the reasons the figures have risen is because the definition for misses has changed.

"The air traffic control system in the UK is the safest in the world," said John Dancer from the CAA. "All the indications are that its coping with the traffic increase at the moment in a safe and efficient manner."

But the British Airline Pilots association said safety margins were being pushed to the limit, particularly for aircraft leaving or heading for airports in south-east England.

The air traffic controllers union, the IPMS, said it was worried by the continuing trend of a rise in serious misses and the continuing pressure on controllers to work harder to keep pace with demand.

The figures come a week after a committee of Members of Parliament expressed concern about the workload of air traffic controllers because of delays in the opening of a new control centre at Swanwick, near Southampton. It should have opened last year.

The Civil Aviation Authority report was published on the same day that the US announced plans to cut airline deaths by 80% over the next 10 years.

US Vice-President Al Gore announced a more rigorous regime of engine checks, and the compulsory installation of ground proximity indicators which warn when a plane is too near the ground.

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