American B772 and China Airlines B744 over Bering Sea on Aug 15th 2014, near collision

Last Update: May 29, 2015 / 15:12:41 GMT/Zulu time

Bookmark this article
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Aug 15, 2014

Classification
Incident

Flight number
CI-5254

Aircraft Registration
B-18722

Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-200

ICAO Type Designator
B772

A China Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter, registration B-18722 performing flight CI-5254 from Taipei (Taiwan) to Anchorage,AK (USA), was enroute at FL350 near N52 E170, about 100nm southwest of Attu Island, when at 21:13L (05:13Z Aug 16th) the crew requested via controller–pilot data link communication (CPDLC) to climb to FL370. Anchorage Control, sector 11R, cleared the aircraft to climb to FL370 by 05:20Z via CPDLC.

An American Airlines Boeing 777-200, registration N773AN performing flight AA-183 from Los Angeles,CA (USA) to Shanghai Pudong (China), was enroute at FL360 near N54 E178, about 220nm northeast of Attu Island, when at 21:16L (05:16Z Aug 16th) the crew requested a climb to FL370 via CPDLC. Anchorage Control, sector 11R, checked separation to a possibly conflicting Korean Airlines flight finding that at 21:26L the two flights would be 16nm apart again and thus cleared the flight to climb to FL370 by 05:30Z.

Shortly after receiving their clearance the China Airlines Boeing 747-400 began their climb and levelled off at FL370 at 05:20Z about 75nm westsouthwest of Attu Island.

The American Airlines Boeing 777-200 began their climb to FL370 at 05:30Z about 80nm northeast of Attu Island, the China Airlines 747 was about 40nm northnortheast of Attu Island at that time.

About a minute later the short term collision alert activated at the controller 11R's desk, the controller determined that at 05:33Z the distance between the aircraft would be 0.8nm only. He made blind transmissions to both aircraft but neither aircraft responded.

At 05:32:29Z China Airlines reported they were responding to a TCAS resolution advisory and were climbing. At 05:32:44Z the crew advised they were now clear of conflict and were descending back to FL370. Radar data show the aircraft reached FL375 during the climb.

At 05:33:26Z AA-183 complained on frequency that they had received clearance to climb to FL370, had been cleared to climb by 5:30Z, they did just that and received a TCAS resolution advisory with another aircraft. The controller replied: "American one eighty three roger, yup, that clearance should have been delayed."

Radar data taken from FAA's ASDI data show, AA-183 was at FL366 at 05:33:03Z already past the crossing point of the tracks, CI-5254 at FL375 at 05:33:04Z just before the crossing point, their horizontal distance had reduced to 0.68nm.

The NTSB is investigating the occurrence.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Aug 15, 2014

Classification
Incident

Flight number
CI-5254

Aircraft Registration
B-18722

Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-200

ICAO Type Designator
B772

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
Article source

You can read 2 more free articles without a subscription.

Subscribe now and continue reading without any limits!

Are you a subscriber? Login
Subscribe

Read unlimited articles and receive our daily update briefing. Gain better insights into what is happening in commercial aviation safety.

Send tip

Support AeroInside by sending a small tip amount.

Related articles

Newest articles

Subscribe today

Are you researching aviation incidents? Get access to AeroInside Insights, unlimited read access and receive the daily newsletter.

Pick your plan and subscribe

Partner

Blockaviation logo

A new way to document and demonstrate airworthiness compliance and aircraft value. Find out more.

ELITE Logo

ELITE Simulation Solutions is a leading global provider of Flight Simulation Training Devices, IFR training software as well as flight controls and related services. Find out more.

Blue Altitude Logo

Your regulation partner, specialists in aviation safety and compliance; providing training, auditing, and consultancy services. Find out more.

AeroInside Blog
Popular aircraft
Airbus A320
Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 MAX
Popular airlines
American Airlines
United
Delta
Air Canada
Lufthansa
British Airways