AirAsia and Jetstar flights narrowly avoid collision at Gold Coast Airport
An investigation is under way into how an AirAsia plane and a Jetstar plane came dangerously close to colliding at Gold Coast Airport on July 21.
The AirAsia plane was taking off from the airport at 11.42am and the Jetstar plane was descending when the two aircraft came within 152 metres of each other.
The AirAsia Airbus A330 was bound for Auckland, and the Jetstar Airbus A320 was arriving from Victoria's Avalon Airport, near Geelong.
The near-miss caused alarms to sound in the cockpits of both planes, although it is unlikely the passengers would have noticed.
A Jetstar plane and an AirAsia aircraft reportedly came within about 150 metres of each other at Gold Coast Airport. Photo: SuppliedA Jetstar spokesman said the pilots of the A320 had received clearance from air traffic control to descend.
"During descent the aircraft warning system alerted our pilots to another aircraft approaching our approved flight path," he said.
"Our pilots took corrective action to restore the safe distance between the two aircraft. The flight continued on to the Gold Coast and landed without further incident.
"It's likely that most passengers would not have been aware of the incident. Our crew did a fantastic job and responded to the situation as they are trained to do. At all times they followed the instructions of air traffic control."
The AirAsia flight was bound for Auckland. The Jetstar pilots put their aircraft into a climb to re-establish a safe distance between the two planes.
An AirAsia spokeswoman said pilots on board the A330 had received clearance for take-off from Gold Coast Airport and followed the flight path according to the heading and altitude provided by the air traffic controller.
She confirmed the pilots then received warning from the traffic collision avoidance system and the crew responded by reducing the vertical speed according to flight safety procedures.
"The aircraft took off safely and continued its journey without any subsequent events," the spokeswoman said.
"Investigation is being led by Air Transport Safety Bureau and AirAsia X is co-operating fully."
A spokesman for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau confirmed the authority was investigating the incident.
"The flightpaths of the inbound Airbus A320 and the outbound Airbus A330 resulted in a loss of separation," the ATSB said in a statement.
"Both aircraft received a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) resolution advisory ... with the crew of the A320 conducting a climb to increase separation."
The traffic collision avoidance system monitors the airspace around an aircraft for other aircraft equipped with corresponding active transponders and gives warning of possible collision risks.
There was no damage to either aircraft.
A report from the ATSB will be completed by July 2017.
