§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement about the mid-Atlantic near collision between two Boeing 707 airliners which occurred on 25th July this year; and what instructions have been issued both to B.O.A.C. pilots and air navigation staffs following this incident.
§ Mr. Goronwy RobertsThe incident involved two aircraft of B.O.A.C. and Trans World Airlines which were flying on tracks converging at the same level some 200 miles South-West of Ireland.
81W The T.W.A. pilot climbed his aircraft slightly when he saw the B.O.A.C. one to avoid possible turbulence from the wake extending behind it.
The incident occurred because of a departure from the normal procedure for issuing A.T.C. clearances to aircraft to prevent risks of collision. The effect 82W was accentuated by later difficulty in getting a message to the B.O.A.C. aircraft to change flight level. Action has been taken on the personnel side and the communications difficulty is under investigation. No special instructions to pilots or other staffs have been considered necessary, as a result of the incident.