Emirates B773 at Dubai on Feb 12th 2013, near collision with fighter aircraft in initial climb

Last Update: June 21, 2013 / 18:18:21 GMT/Zulu time

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Photo of Emirates Airlines A6-EBD, Boeing 777-300 — Emirates Airlines A6-EBD, Boeing 777-300 (Photo credit: Andy_Mitchell_UK / Flickr / License: CC by-sa)

Incident Facts

Date of incident
Feb 12, 2013

Classification
Report

Cause
Near collision

Airline
Emirates Airlines

Flight number
EK-123

Departure
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Destination
Istanbul, Turkey

Aircraft Registration
A6-EBD

Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-300

ICAO Type Designator
B773

An Emirates Boeing 777-300, registration A6-EBD performing flight EK-123 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Istanbul (Turkey) with 414 passengers and 17 crew, was in the initial climb through 500 feet out of Dubai's runway 12R in clear skies and daylight, when a United Arab Emirates Hawk fighter jet, not in contact with Dubai however transponding Mode-C, was about to cross the extended runway center line of runway 12R at 600 feet AGL and 353 knots over ground. The Boeing crew, who received a TCAS Traffic Advisory but were unable to visually locate the other aircraft, as well as ATC had no time to react, the fighter pilot however flew a hard left turn avoiding a collision but not without the separation reducing to 100 feet vertical and 0.3nm horizontal. The United Arab Emirates Civil Aviation Authority reported only 3.5 seconds separated the aircraft from collision.

United Arab Emirates' Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) released their preliminary report stating, that the fighter pilot departing Dubai's Minhad Airbase flying north had already busted the airspaces of Dubai Al Maktoum Airport and Dubai International Airport without making contact with either airport control frequencies. The aircraft however was in contact with Dubai Approach Control Unit Al Minhad sector, operating from Dubai's Al Maktoum Airport. Sporadic radar contacts suggested that the Hawk was transponding Mode-C.

77 seconds prior to the near collision the Hawk crew requested clearance to climb to 2000 feet to cross Dubai International Airport from Al Minhad sector, the controller declined and advised the crew needed to contact Dubai International Airport tower at the tower frequency providing the frequency for the tower controlling runway 12L, not 12R. 11 seconds prior to near collision the Hawk crew attempted to contact that frequency.

The tower controller working 12R and the Boeing 777 noticed the fast moving target at 500 feet moving north just after the rotation of the Boeing 777 and issued a traffic alert to the Boeing, however, no avoidance action was possible due to phase of flight and the closure speed in excess of 350 knots.

Following the avoidance maneouver the Hawk crew established contact with Dubai International Airport's tower and advised they were now returning to Al Minhad Airbase, the aircraft was seen moving in a southerly direction afterwards.

The GCAA reported that the Boeing 777-300 was fitted with a TCAS 7.1, retrieval of data stored in the TCAS memory confirmed the crew's report of a TCAS traffic advisory, a resolution advisory was still inhibited as the aircraft had not yet reached TCAS operating height.

The GCAA rated the occurrence a serious incident involving a serious risk of a collision.