Airprox in the Torino CTR Involving Fokker 100 and Fokker 50 (F-GNLK)

Event Overview On 6 January 2005 at approximately 10:07:55 UTC, a serious airprox occurred in the Torino Control Zone (CTR) at about 4,400 ft. The aircraft involved were a Fokker 100, registration F-GNLK, operating as AFR 402E, and a Fokker 50, registration PH-FZG, operating as ANS 8798. Both were on approach to Torino Caselle Airport (LIMF) and were vectored for an ILS approach to runway 36. ## Aircraft and Operations AFR 402E was a Fokker 100 (F-GNLK) operated by Regional CAE (France), arriving from Paris Charles de Gaulle (LFPG). ANS 8798 was a Fokker 50 (PH-FZG) operated by Denim Air (Netherlands), arriving from Barcelona (LEBL). Both flights were public passenger services operating under IFR. ## Sequence of Events The two aircraft were under radar control on 129.275 MHz. During vectoring between 4,700 and 4,400 ft, they were at the same altitude on converging trajectories for several seconds, with lateral separation reducing from 3 NM to just under 1 NM. The closest point of approach (CPA) occurred at about 10:07:55 UTC, when the aircraft were at the same altitude and 1.04 NM (1.926 km) apart. ## Resolution Combined TCAS advisories and ATC actions resulted in the aircraft achieving 1,000 ft vertical separation, after which their trajectories diverged. No injuries or damage were reported. ## ATC and Training Context At the time, a controller in training for radar qualification was operating under the supervision of an On the Job Training Instructor (OJTI). The OJTI intervened on frequency, first to stop the descent of AFR 402E and vector it for a modified base leg, and later to attempt to restore minimum separation, but the sub-separation still occurred. ## Meteorological and Technical Notes The 10:00 UTC METAR for Torino reported variable wind at 2 kt, visibility over 10 km, rain, scattered clouds at 3,000 ft, overcast at 8,000 ft, temperature 4°C, dew point 3°C, and QNH 1030 hPa. Flight conditions were VMC. A timing discrepancy of 10 seconds per three minutes was noted between T/B/T communications and the traffic list printout, likely due to a data transfer anomaly, which complicated analysis but did not affect the results.