Investigation number
AO-2014-170
Occurrence date
Location
overhead Taroom Airport
State
Queensland
Report release date
Report status
Discontinued
Investigation level
Short
Investigation type
Occurrence Investigation
Investigation status
Discontinued
Aviation occurrence type
Loss of separation assurance
Occurrence category
Incident
Highest injury level
None
Anticipated completion

Section 21 (2) of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (TSI Act) empowers the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to discontinue an investigation into a transport safety matter at any time. Section 21 (3) of the TSI Act requires the ATSB to publish a statement setting out the reasons for discontinuing an investigation.

On 24 October 2014, the ATSB commenced an investigation into a loss of separation assurance involving an Embraer EMB-135, registered VH-JTG, and an Airbus A321, registered VH-VWX, overhead Taroom Aerodrome, Queensland on 21 October 2014.

Examination of the information collected during the investigation indicated that the aircraft were assigned the same flight level on crossing tracks resulting in a loss of separation assurance. VH-JTG passed in front of VH-VWX and separation reduced to 6.6 NM (12 km). The lateral separation standard at the time was 5 NM (9 km) and there was no Short Term Conflict Alert (STCA) or other alert issued, including by the aircraft’s systems.

The ATSB did not identify any organisational or systemic issues that contributed to the incident and assessed that no safety issues would be identified through further investigation. On that basis, the ATSB has decided to discontinue its investigation.

Aircraft Details
Manufacturer
Embraer-Empresa Brasileira De Aeronautica
Model
EMB-135LR
Registration
VH-JTG
Serial number
145687
Operation type
Charter
Sector
Jet
Departure point
Brisbane, Qld
Destination
Osborne, Qld
Damage
Nil
Aircraft Details
Manufacturer
Airbus
Model
A321-231
Registration
VH-VWX
Aircraft Operator
Jetstar Airways
Serial number
3899
Operation type
Air Transport High Capacity
Sector
Jet
Departure point
Sydney, NSW
Destination
Cairns, QLD
Damage
Nil