Incident Details
A near midair collision occurred approximately 200 miles east of Miami when two aircraft passed about 300 feet from each other while operating in a nonradar environment. Both aircraft were at their assigned flight levels on routes approved and issued by Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The aircraft involved were N82NA and Pan American World Airways (PAA) flight N656PA, both at FL370.
Controller Actions
The investigation found that the D72 controller failed to coordinate the altitude of N656PA with the D81 controller, failed to note the conflict when approving FL370 for N82NA, and placed the flight progress strip for N82NA in the wrong bay at sector 72 position. Additionally, the D81 and R81 controllers failed to detect the conflict between the two aircraft. The R72 controller did not carefully read the strip when he found it.
Quality Assurance Deficiencies
The board also found that the quality assurance efforts at the Miami ARTCC were deficient.
Findings
The incident was attributed to multiple controller errors and inadequate quality assurance processes. No specific aircraft types or engine counts were noted in the source. The time of day, weather conditions, and ATC involvement beyond the described controller actions were not specified.