Two Qantas planes flying west of Adelaide avoided a near miss this afternoon after coming too close, the Australian press reported. The planes, both Airbus A330 aircraft, were travelling between Sydney and Perth in opposite directions.
The plane from Sydney to Perth, flight QF581, was travelling at 38,000 feet when it requested permission to ascend. An air traffic controller granted permission to the pilots to take the plane to 40,000 feet, but as they starting making that change, the safety system was activated, the Australian reported.
Flight QF576, from Perth to Sydney, had been travelling at 39,000 feet when flight QF581 entered its pathway, causing a "loss of separation", a breach of the safe travel distance between aircraft. According to passenger accounts, the plane to Sydney safely dipped under the the plane to Perth.
"I saw a plane going underneath us to the left, somewhere in South Australia I'd suggest," Gary Martin, a passenger on the plane to Perth, said, according to a report by the ABC.
A passenger on the flight to Sydney, Janet McLean, reported she felt two drops in the plane's altitude, the same ABC report said. Both planes landed safely and the event had no negative impact on the passengers, reports said.
An air traffic controller involved in the incident has been suspended without pay, according to standard procedure. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it was gathering information to determine if an investigation of the incident is necessary.
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