Court decision on near-collision at Zurich Airport
On 15 March 2011, there was an uncontrolled approach of two aircraft at Zurich Airport, which were cleared for take-off on intersecting runways. The air traffic controller on duty was acquitted of the charge of negligent interference with public traffic on 7 December 22016. However, many questions remain unanswered regarding Zurich airport safety.
The air traffic control in Zurich is still inadequate, Aerocontrol underlines the incident, whereby an air traffic controller wanted to let two Airbus planes take off "crossed" in 2011.
The incident occurred in March 2011. The air traffic controller gave two Airbus aircraft with a total of more than 260 passengers on board permission to take off immediately after each other on two intersecting runways. The pilots of one aircraft recognized the danger at the last moment and aborted the takeoff just in time. Immediately afterwards, the skyguide pilot also reacted and gave the order to abort the take-off. In the cockpit of the other aircraft, however, the danger went unnoticed.
The incident, according to a communiqué from Aerocontrol (Air Traffic Controllers Association), was mainly due to an enormously high level of complexity with very little tolerance for error in daily flight operations. The air traffic controller on duty was acquitted of the charge of negligently disrupting public traffic on December 7. However, despite several near-collisions, Zurich Airport is still not operated according to the principle of "safety first".
The prevailing conditions, not least a capacity squeeze would narrow air traffic control in Zurich. Aerocontrol also writes of a "minimal safety margin that will continue to encourage such incidents in the future."
Effects on the error culture
It was the first time in Switzerland that an air traffic controller had to answer legally for an incident in which no one was injured. A guilty verdict would have had a decisive impact on Skyguide's error-reporting culture. Employees feared that errors and oversights would be reported less frequently in future for fear of consequences. Recognising weaknesses and learning from them would have become more difficult in the event of a conviction.
Security at Zurich Airport questionable
The Swiss Accident Investigation Authority (SUST) states in its report on the negotiated incident that it has had to investigate ten serious incidents on the intersecting runways at Zurich Airport since 2000. The proposed improvement measures failed mainly because of noise policy requirements or their impact on the airport's capacity.
"Experience shows that the growth forecasts will lead to additional capacity pressure, which will inevitably put further pressure on the already minimal safety margin," says the communiqué. The variant of southern take-offs favoured by all airport partners over the northern concept is not supported by politicians, although this procedure would significantly improve flight safety.
Danger due to noise policy requirements
More than a third of all departures are routed back over the airport at low altitude. The resulting advantages in terms of noise reduction would be cancelled out by bundling flights. Unfortunately, according to Aerocontrol representatives, Zurich Airport is the "only airport in Europe" with intersecting take-off runways. Such incidents could be prevented with less complex procedures, such as a linear south take-off. (Skyguide/Aerocontrol/mm)
