Near miss in Geneva airspace caused by flight level error and crew distraction

What happened

On 27 November 2003, an air traffic incident occurred 3 NM northwest of MILPA within the Geneva control sector. The crew of an Iberia Airbus 320, registration EC-IEF, was operating a scheduled flight from Frankfurt to Madrid. After being cleared to climb to flight level 340, the crew mistakenly set flight level 350 in the flight control unit (FCU) altitude window.

Simultaneously, a Delta Airlines Boeing 763, registration N194DN, was cruising at flight level 350 on a flight from New York to Venice. Because the Iberia aircraft climbed through its assigned level, it intercepted the flight path of the Delta aircraft. The conflict triggered a Short Term Conflict Alert (STCA) and a TCAS Resolution Advisory (RA) for the Delta crew. At the closest point, the two aircraft were separated by only 4.6 NM horizontally and 6/00 FT vertically.

The investigation

The investigation established that the Iberia crew failed to monitor the aircraft's altitude correctly due to significant distractions. The commander reported that the crew was preoccupied with checking circuit breakers and addressing an ECAM consultative message. Additionally, the pilots had requested a flight attendant to check the cabin for unauthorized electronic devices.

Radar controllers noted that the controller in charge was a trainee under supervision. The investigation found that the controller had observed the aircraft's climb and had even issued reminders to the pilot to maintain flight level 340 before the STCA alert was triggered. The investigation also noted that the control frequencies for the sectors involved were coupled.

Findings

• The primary cause was a crew member on EC-IEF erroneously setting flight level 350 instead of the cleared flight level 340.

• The error went unnoticed by the second crew member due to distractions caused by the disorganized handling of an ECAM message and the checking of cockpit circuit breakers.

• The radar controller's proactive monitoring and reminders helped alert the crew to the deviation before the loss of separation became critical.