Human, All Too Human

After decades of faulting pilots involved in collisions or near-misses for inadequate vigilance, the NTSB now officially concedes that see-and-avoid is a highly unreliable system.

Peter Garrison

Monday, June 05, 2017 at 07:20 PM ET

Verified

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a highly-maneuverable multi-role fighter aircraft. [Courtesy: U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

Two separate 2015 mid-air collisions, involving both general aviation and military/commercial aircraft, were primarily attributed by the NTSB to air traffic controller errors, stemming from miscommunication, incorrect instructions, and high workload.
These incidents prompted the NTSB to officially declare the traditional "see-and-avoid" concept unreliable for preventing mid-air collisions due to factors like obstructed views, pilot workload, and the inherent difficulty of visually spotting converging traffic.
The article suggests a growing reliance on new electronic systems, such as ADS-B, which provide unambiguous cockpit traffic displays, as the future solution to virtually eliminate mid-air collisions between equipped aircraft.

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In July 2015, a U.S. Air Force F-16 collided with a Cessna 150 near Charleston, South Carolina. The 150 fell from the sky, killing both of its occupants. The F-16 flew on for a couple of minutes before the pilot ejected and the crippled fighter crashed harmlessly in the woods.

The weather was clear, and the F-16 was performing a practice instrument approach at Charleston International Airport (CHS), which is also an Air Force base. The fighter jet was at 1,600 feet, flying a heading of 260 degrees to intercept the final approach course for Runway 15. The Cessna had taken off from a nearby uncontrolled airport, Berkeley County (MKS), and had turned southeastward, squawking 1200 and not in contact with controllers.