What happened
On the night of 5 July 2015, a series of separation and altitude concerns occurred at Melbourne Airport, Victoria. During the period of take-off and landing operations, three separate aircraft entered into unsafe proximity with one another. Following these proximity events, an aircraft was subjected to radar vectoring during a missed approach; however, this maneuver was conducted while the aircraft was positioned below the required minimum vector altitude (MVA).
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events involving the three aircraft and the subsequent radar vectoring of the fourth. The analysis specifically examined the actions taken by air traffic controllers during the period of unsafe proximity and the missed approach. Furthermore, the investigation looked into broader organisational issues that may have contributed to the breakdown in standard separation procedures and altitude maintenance.