Skytrans Dash 8 and private aircraft in near miss at Townsville

A De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 flown by Skytrans Australia and a private aircraft came close to colliding at Townsville Airport in Queensland on 1 October. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has opened an investigation.

The Dash 8, registration VH-QQF, was arriving as flight QN710 from Kidston. It was on a visual approach to runway 07 when its traffic alert and collision avoidance system, TCAS, told the crew to descend. The private aircraft was on a training flight west of the airport.

Before the encounter, the private aircraft's crew had told air traffic control they would not enter controlled airspace. Controllers advised them of the approaching Dash 8 and instructed them to keep visual separation.

According to the account, the private aircraft's pilots saw the Dash 8 only when the two aircraft were level with each other on crossing paths, about 0.6 nautical miles apart, roughly 1.1 kilometres. The horizontal distance then narrowed to 0.3 nautical miles, about 560 metres, before the Dash 8's descent resolved the conflict.

The investigation is at an early stage. No findings have been published.