An alert air traffic controller may have prevented a plane crash after he warned a pilot he had descended to a dangerous level close to mountains in Kerry.
The information emerged in report into a serious incident involving the private Gulfstream IV jet near Killarney on July 13th last year. There were three people on board the plane, including the pilot and a first officer who had just over an hour of flying experience on that particular type of aircraft in the previous 28 days.
A series of problems, including the incorrect programming of navigation equipment by the first officer on the flight, and a cracked windscreen shortly after takeoff, led the crew to become confused, according to the report of the Air Accident Investigation Unit.
During the incident, the plane descended below cloud to just 702 feet, heading directly towards high ground of over 3,000 feet just six miles ahead.
Kerry Airport does not have access to radar and its controllers use "procedural means" to control traffic. They are also in contact by phone with air traffic controllers at Shannon.
A combination of factors, including lack of experience on the part of the first officer, and the pilot’s failure to act on an instruction from the Kerry air traffic controller, led to the serious incident.
The report said “inconsistent and inaccurate position reports” and non-compliance with the air traffic controller’s instruction “were not challenged at the time by the controller”.
The controller told the investigating team he appreciated that there was “significant” confusion in the cockpit and that the crew was under “intense pressure” at the time.
Therefore, he did not think it would be prudent to communicate with them regarding their non-compliance with his instructions.
A radar controller at Shannon was commended for his “vigilance” in the case after he alerted the crew, who were simultaneously alerted by a warning system in the cockpit.
“Given the confusion of the crew…his direct and forceful intervention quite possibly made the difference in averting a Controlled Flight into Terrain accident,” the report stated.
The investigators recommended that Kerry Airport look into providing radar information to support its air traffic control service. The airport had not, as of yesterday, responded to the safety recommendation but said it continued to be in touch with the Irish Aviation Authority.
A spokeswoman for the AAIU said that while no formal response had been received, Kerry Airport “have been and continue to be in active communication with the IAA regarding the safety recommendation”.
The unit said it was “not unusual” for an agency to which a safety recommendation had been addressed to still have it under consideration on the day on which the final report into an incident was published.