Air traffic controller at high fatigue risk during Virgin-Qantas near-miss
An air traffic controller at high fatigue risk was on duty at Sydney Airport in August. A Virgin jet cut in front of a Qantas plane.
Safety investigators found that an air traffic controller at risk of fatigue was on duty on August 17. A Virgin Australia flight nearly hit a Qantas aircraft.
The Virgin plane was taxiing after diverting to Sydney from Newcastle when it crossed in front of Qantas flight QF420. The Qantas crew had to brake hard to avoid collision.
The controller finished work at 8:50pm the night before. They started again at 5:30am.
That morning they were the only controller on duty with high predicted fatigue risk. The controller didn't catch the Virgin crew's incomplete instruction readback, a mistake that helped cause the incident.
The controller was removed from duty for the rest of the day. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau also noted that Airservices Australia, which runs Sydney air traffic control, has no approved fatigue management system.
- August 17
- Date of incident
- VA1589
- Virgin flight
- QF420
- Qantas flight
- 8:50pm to 5:30am
- Controller shift
Why it mattersFatigue in air traffic control can lead to fatal collisions. Gaps in Australia's fatigue management systems put every flight at risk.
AustraliaAustralian air travellers at Sydney Airport depend on controllers making perfect decisions under high fatigue risk; the system may not be catching the danger.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
Open this story in InSnip →
