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| Date: | Saturday 5 February 2022 |
| Time: | 03:29 UTC |
| Type: |  Boeing 767-304ER (BCF) |
| Owner/operator: | DHL Aero Expreso |
| Registration: | HP-3310DAE |
| MSN: | 28042/649 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1997 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | 35 nm S of SORTA -
 Chile
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Miami International Airport, FL (MIA/KMIA) |
| Buenos Aires/Ezeiza-Ministro Pistarini Airport, BA (EZE/SAEZ) | |
| Investigating agency: | DGAC Chile |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
DHL Aero Expreso flight D51557, a Boeing 767-300ER (HP-3310DAE), and American Airlines flight AA940, a Boeing 787-8 (N812AA) were involved in an airprox incident south of the SORTA intersection in Chile.
On January 5, 2022, at 03:29 UTC, approximately 35 NM south of the SORTA intersection, on airway UL780, the Air Traffic Control Officer (ATCO) at the Oceanic Area Control Center (ACCO) authorized the climb of flight 1557 from FL350 to FL 370, estimating SORTA at 03:24, without realizing that AA940 was flying in the opposite direction at FL360 and estimating SORTA at 03:34 UTC.
At 03:29:28 UTC, the aircraft were 7.8 NM apart on opposite headings with 300 feet of vertical separation.
At 03:29:48, as a result of ACAS/TCAS actions, AAL940 climbed and DAE1557 descended, achieving 1000 feet of vertical separation 2.5 NM before crossing.
Most likely cause:
Non-use by the ATCO of procedural control techniques to ensure the position of the aircraft and the corresponding regulatory separation, due to airspace without radar coverage.
Contributing Factors:
- Lack of permanent communications and radar coverage in the SORTA sector.
- Use of the pseudo-track for effective radar control in the application of regulatory separation.
- Problems with the display of flight progress strips, not noticing the crossing of traffic before authorizing the ascent of DAE1557.
- Failure to detect on the radar screen that the trace of AAL940 was not in the display nor the Pseudo Track.
- Calculation of the estimated time of crossing not performed prior to authorizing the ascent of DAE1557, which, if it had been calculated, should be written somewhere on the flight progress strips, a numeral that is not noted, nor was it transmitted to the pilot of the aircraft.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
DGAC Chile
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 8 December 2024 | HP-3310DAE | DHL Aero Expreso | 0 | Bogotá-Eldorado International Airport (BOG/SKBO) |  |
min |
| Aborted takeoff | ||||||
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Mar-2025 11:37 | ASN | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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