Air Transport

Crew took action to avoid light aircraft after warning on approach to Washington Dulles

A Shuttle America Embraer 170 avoided a possible collision with an oncoming Piper Cherokee while on approach to Washington Dulles airport when the crew took evasive action after receiving a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) alert.

According to a preliminary report by the US National Transportation Safety Board on the 3 October incident, the change in course and flight level initiated by the E-170 crew after the TCAS alert avoided any incident, but resulted in one injury to a flight attendant. No injuries are recorded among the 40 passengers on board the flight from Montreal, Canada.

Information from the flight data recorder was sent to the NTSB for investigation, but cockpit voice recorder data was permanently lost. “Company management did not immediately know the exact details of the event, and the aircraft was placed back into service. Consequently, cockpit voice recorder data for the accident flight was lost,” says the NTSB.

The NTSB says in its report that the E-170 flight crew explained in written statements that “as they approached the airport, on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern at 3,000ft [900m], the aircraft’s TCAS provided a resolution advisory [RA] to climb. The first officer climbed the aircraft to 3,500ft and, once the RA was complied with, descended back to 3,000ft”.

The safety regulator adds: “Preliminary air traffic control radar and communication data depicted the accident aircraft on a southerly track at 3,000ft, and another aircraft converging head-on from the south, at 2,500ft. The controller instructed the accident aircraft to turn to a south-westerly heading, and the aircraft assumed a divergent, south-westerly track for about 10s before a climb to 3,500ft was initiated.”

The NTSB says the other aircraft was a non-commercial Piper Cherokee general aviation aircraft.

- UK regional Flybe will be the launch customer for Embraer 170/190 pilot simulator training provided by GE Capital Aviation Training (GECAT) at the company’s London Gatwick centre.

The training provider’s Gatwick-based simulator for the new Embraer jet family is scheduled to come online for training in early 2007.

DARREN SHANNON/WASHINGTON DC