Flights incident: So close was the plan to collide – New Technology

     So close was the aircraft collided (greater graphics, see the right column). Graphics: Jonas Askergren

The Russian signals intelligence plane and SAS plane was about 40 seconds to pass close to each other or collide. It states air force Anders Jönsson for New Technology.

About 40 seconds less than a minute.

– Even from a combat pilot’s way of seeing things is 40 seconds for a very short time to react, says Anders Jönsson, which is air-operative effort leader in Swedish Air Force.

It was on the morning December 12 as the Armed Forces command center noted that a Russian SIGINT aircraft of the type Ilyushin 11-20M flew without transponders turned south on the Swedish coast of Skåne.

Meanwhile, a passenger plane, a CRJ 200, which flew for the SAS, just lifting from Kastrup and were on their way up in the air.

The military air traffic controllers warned when the civilian air traffic controllers, since the civil aviation management could not see the Russian plane on their computer screens when its transponder was turned off.

If this is done, had not the plan either risked passing close to each other or possibly collided.

This assessment is now the Armed Forces, stated to a news conference at the headquarters today.

As closest to each other, the plan was just over 3 miles of each other sideways and a little over 500 feet in height distance.

- What the military and civilian air traffic controllers did in the dialogue was to first put the SAS plane in height, and after further dialogue was asked SAS plane also change course, says Göran Mårtensson, team leader of the Armed Forces .

The change of course played a major role.

– None of the air traffic controllers certain how the Russian plane would fly, if you thought about changing altitude or course. If civil plane had not had swung plan ended up on the cutting course with each other, says Anders Jönsson.

The Air Force has previously experienced Russian military plane flies with transponders turned off.

– We’ve seen this before, says Göran Mårtensson. It does not use their transponders fully as we do.

The action is in itself no infraction, he says. But according to the Chicago Convention, Article 3, shall be military aircraft adjust its flight after civil aviation. The Convention is an agreement within the ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization.

According to Anders Jönsson, there was nothing in the Russian behavior that shows that signals intelligence plane was about to change course.

– No, it was not, not in this case, he said.

When the battle command center discovery of similar events in the past, has been called up Swedish fighter aircraft in the air.

- They have since died down just behind the Russian plane with their transponders, see Anders Jönsson.

This has also civilian air traffic was able to follow in the air the Russian plane is located.

But right at incident on December 12 was not called incident preparedness up, according to Göran Mårtensson.

He explains that the battle line has radar sensors with good quality displays of aircraft movements in Sweden’s vicinity.

At the same time, it happens that even Swedish military plane flies without transponders on, he said.

– It happens only if we Embargoed an area before a practice or if we have very special operational reasons, and then we make sure we have good distance to civilian aircraft, he said.

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