Incident Overview
On an unspecified date, Eastern Airlines Flight 92, a Boeing 727 (registration N8840E), and a United States Air Force KC-135 (registration 60-0330, call sign Fowl 24) were involved in a near collision while both aircraft were maintaining flight level 350 (FL350). The captain of Eastern Airlines Flight 92 reported that during the occurrence, the KC-135 passed directly in front of his aircraft at a distance of approximately one-quarter mile, crossing from right to left. He also reported that there was insufficient time for him to avoid wake turbulence from the KC-135.
Crew Awareness
The flight crew of the KC-135 was unaware of the occurrence until after they had completed their training flight. The crew of Eastern Airlines Flight 92 made the report of the near collision.
Communications and Air Traffic Control
Investigation revealed that the incident occurred after Jacksonville Center had instructed the KC-135 crew to contact Atlanta Center during a hand-off. The KC-135 copilot indicated that he thought he had complied with the instruction, but no radio calls from the KC-135 were recorded until after the incident. The Atlanta controller was not aware of the KC-135 in his assigned airspace until after the captain of Eastern Airlines Flight 92 reported the near collision.
Radar Data
The investigation further revealed that radar data on the KC-135 was available and displayed on the controller's scope. Despite this, the controller did not recognize the presence of the KC-135 until the report was made.