Planes in near miss after NZ air controller 'choked'

[Admin]

Two planes were mistakenly put on a collision course over New Zealand when an air controller “choked under pressure”.

 

A report by the country’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission said the controller at Hamilton Airport became overwhelmed during a regular assessment.

 

During the evaluation, four incidents occurred in air space monitored by the control tower that caused the assessor to take charge, reports the New Zealand Herald.

 

''The controller became overwhelmed by the circumstances on the day and lost situational awareness of the aircraft within the control zone," the commission found.

 

The incident occurred in December 2015 during a controller’s yearly proficiency assessment that involved an assessor sitting behind them.

 

An air controller at Hamilton Airport in New Zealand became "overwhelmed" by the pressure of an evaluation exercise, says a government report. (Getty)

 

The report said a pilot on their first solo flight was directed to a head-on collision course with another aircraft. The planes came within 926 metres of each other.

 

''Following the fourth incident, the assessor stopped the assessment and took over as the aerodrome controller to resolve the situation,'' it said.

 

The incident resulted in no aircraft collisions and nobody was injured.

 

But a clinical psychologist’s report that assessed the controller’s actions found anxiety and pressure had triggered their behaviour.

 

“The psychologist's assessment of the controller's actions stated in part [that] the controller appears to have experienced 'choking under pressure', a phenomenon defined as a critical deterioration in the execution of habitual processes as a result of elevation in anxiety under perceived pressure, leading to substandard performance."

 

 

[facthunter]

In ordinary laymans terms Panic. An anxiety /confusion situation . For people charged with making quick accurate decisions an absolute disaster that won't be something the individual would normally extricate themselves from unaided at the time.. Perhaps a career ending event. Pilots may experience similar challenging events in their careers but may not always have someone take over, due the fact they are not present, ( single pilot) or the command chain is so rigid that taking over is not culturally likely. The element of being checked may also contribute to the pressure on the occasion. Nev

 

 

[Yenn]

If the fact that the controller was being assesed contributed to the panic, it is good that the fault has been found. That controller may have gone on for years quite safely, but could also panic at any time when there was a problem and someone could have died.

 

 

[Birdseye]

The main issues were most likely that the selection and training processes failed to identify unsuitable traits in the first place. However, there also comes into play any question of procedural deficiencies in the ATC system and procedures. I have also seen situations where a controller with limited experience was placed in situations that were predictable and should have been dealt with by a more experienced one.

 

I'd like to know more about the "During the evaluation, four incidents occurred", as if the controller was being correctly monitored, there should have been zero incidents.

 

Without a link to a substantial report, the original post is quite worthless.

 

 

[facthunter]

Good points. Lack of experience and /or training to cope with a deficient system that only seasoned controllers make work. Perhaps this person is NOT suited but without knowing the details fully it's just a newsy item. Flying and ATC is not a job for everyone but if not properly trained even the best won't make it at the higher level of technically complex tasks.. Nev

 

 

[Swish Projects]

Hello everyone. I am a 20 Year ATC, and have experienced the dread that is felt during a loss of situational awareness. It is a horrible feeling when you mix up a radar ident or an extra track appears in your jurisdiction - and you have no idea who the hell that is. Is it a new aircraft that's busted your airspace, or is it someone you forgot about? Sometimes it is pilots changing their callsigns during a flight (spending the last 10 flights in a particular C172, then jumping into another one for the first time). It is a terrible feeling and one that EVERY ATC will eventually need to contend with. Stop departures, establish identification, maintain separation and pass traffic. Then report it and hope for kind treatment.

 

Recognising that even the best of us will get into this situation, I am personally reluctant to recommend a trainee for a final check until I have seen how they cope when their best laid plans have fallen into a steaming heap. Anyone with a half a brain can do ATC if they have the right training and all is going to plan. Not everyone can dust themselves off, re-organise a herd of cats and establish a safe situation. Until I see that a trainee can do that, and will do it again when they are working without direct supervision, then I prefer to see training go on a bit longer.

 

In this case, the check may well have been a relevant factor. The big problem with being under check or training, is that you are the slave to two masters. You have your job to do, but then you need to also think about how the Check Controller wants you to do that job. It is like thinking in a second language - everything needs to be considered twice, and it's tiring. It is even worse if you are getting little 'tips from the Super-Coach' while you are trying to work. Nothing you ever do seems good enough.

 

Managing interaction with a trainee or candidate is a very difficult thing to do properly - one I am still working on after many years.

 

Without knowing enough information about what happened here, it calls out to me that something strange is going on when the check was allowed to continue after the first 'incident'. In today's workplace environment, and reading between the lines a little, I speculate that the writing was already on the wall for this particular candidate. The pressure of this check was amplified by the fact that their job was on the line, and the check controller felt they needed to collect ample evidence to support their assessment as 'not suitable'. I can certainly relate to both sides of that fence.

 

We all just do our best, support our colleagues, report our learning experiences and call out for help when we need it.

 

 

[Birdseye]

Having now downloaded and briefly read the actual report, the main issue appears to be with the operation of the ATC unit and ingrained practices, more than that of the individual. However, it does raise a question as to whether the competence of this controller had come into question previously and if so, why had nothing been done about it before this check?

 

I challenge the comment above about anyone with half a brain. It requires a certain kind of brain to do the job well, from experience more a practical one that is able to make quick and reasoned decisions, rather than an academic one, but certainly much more than half of one.

 

 

[Swish Projects]

You are correct. The peolpe I work with are all very clever.

 

Brains and aptitude are not enough. A preparedness to fight back when the hood falls is what I was referring to. A clever deer in the headlights is no good to anyone.

 

 

[Birdseye]

>SNIP< A clever deer in the headlights is no good to anyone.

Found a few of those in the output from UoTL when they were running ATC training.

 

 

[facthunter]

It was a well known fact that a determined person could fail just about anybody if they wished to, by the way they went about it. I hope less of that is done these days , but I'm sure it still happens.. Trying to please the checker is understandable but places much more load on you trying to serve two masters .Best to behave as if no one is there works best for me. A check should be as you would do it normally or it's not a valid check. Everyone suffers from some form/degree of check-it is. You are probably fooling yourself if you say you don't. Nev