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| Date: | Monday 7 June 2010 |
| Time: | 08:41 |
| Type: |  Diamond DA 40 Diamond Star |
| Owner/operator: | F-air Flight Operations Ltd. |
| Registration: | HB-SGE |
| MSN: | 40.821 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2007 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | St. Gallen -
 Switzerland
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airport (ACH/LSZR) |
| St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airport (ACH/LSZR) | |
| Investigating agency: | BFU Switz. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On the morning of June 7, 2010, the Diamond DA40 HB-SGE departed runway 28 at St. Gallen-Altenrhein for a training flight. The air traffic controller (ATC) initially instructed the crew to maintain the runway heading due to an IFR flight in progress.
Shortly after takeoff, the crew was instructed to turn left toward the exit point ZULU, which they acknowledged.
At the same time, a Piper PA-46-500TP, D-FRAH, was on an IFR flight from Grenchen to St. Gallen-Altenrhein. Shortly after entering the control zone, the pilot contacted St. Gallen Tower on frequency. The aircraft was aligned with the instrument landing system (ILS) for runway 10.
When the two aircraft were within approximately 1 NM of each other, the ATC observed on radar that the HB-SGE was still on the extended centerline of the ILS. The controller immediately instructed HB-SGE to turn left and advised of the oncoming traffic.
Both crews reported visual contact with the other aircraft. The aircraft passed each other in opposite directions, with a vertical separation of about 300 ft.
Cause
The serious incident was caused by a dangerous near-collision between an arriving aircraft and a departing aircraft on reciprocal tracks. The systemic cause was linked to an international agreement that resulted in aircraft departing and arriving toward each other.
Direct Causes
- The air traffic controller selected a departure procedure that placed both aircraft on opposite headings and did not sufficiently monitor the situation to ensure the potential conflict was resolved.
- The crew of the departing aircraft did not follow the controller’s instruction to turn off the reciprocal course, despite having acknowledged the instruction.
-The crew of the departing aircraft did not inform ATC that they had not complied with the given instruction.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
8X001-10
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Oct-2024 11:41 | ASN | Added |
| 16-Oct-2025 11:36 | ASN | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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