Near miss or not - you decide ......

[Gizmonster]

I took this vid last Thurs (13th Oct).
Both planes were virtually the same size, so they must have been flying at similar heights - a bit too close for comfort if you ask me.

What do you reckon ????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqYvVM4H1lI

[puternut]

Nope Gizmonster - I would say the one which starts left - then above - then right is at a higher altitude as it appears slightly smaller and tavelling slower.

Just my opinon

[Gizmonster]

Yea I can tell that one plane is smaller than the other, so must be flying higher ... I was just wondering how close they actually came when the faster one passed the slower one 'cos you can't really tell from so far away.

[Jonathan-Joe]

I would say that one appears about 50% larger than the other, so if the two are actually of similar size, it would be 50% higher.

[Jonathan-Joe]

oops, got it the wrong way round. The plane that appears SMALLER would be 50% higher.

[puternut]

I believe on airport approach there is a minimum 1000 feet clearance. Not sure if that applies at 30000 feet though

[vulcan]

The vapour trails are different, the plane that "overtakes" is a lot higher then the other one.

[Andyvon]

Don't you mean 'Near-Hit' Gizmonster? A 'Near-Miss' implies a collision!

All aircraft flying in the same airway are separated by a minimum of 1000 vertical feet. The separation is usually greater but in particularly busy airways many aircraft can be travelling in opposite directions with a 1000 feet between all of them.

The picture just shows two aircraft flying in the same airway with one at least 1000 feet above the other.

[Gizmonster]

According to an article in the daily mail, it's not a near miss if the planes are 3 miles apart horizontally or 1000 feet apart vertically.

See here: http://www.dailymail....o-near-near-miss.html

Still looks scary from the ground though eh ??

[AlBags]

It can't even be a thousand. I would say more like 3 thousand.
Good vid tho : )

[THECORBYLOON]

Is it not called an "air-miss" rather than a near miss?

[Clanad]

All signatories to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have set standards for flight in Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums airspace (RVSM) (Aviation lives on acronyms). This includes airspace between Flight Level (FL) 290 (29,000 feet above mean sea level) and FL410. The agreement includes standards for altimetry, auto-flight and pilot qualifications. The agreement results in vertical separation of 1,000 feet versus the older 2,000 feet...

[Buenchico]

Clanad:
I think Gizmonster's question relates not so much as to what the exact rules are, but as to whether the video shows them being broken. (I doubt it myself, but I've been waiting to read your opinion).

[Clanad]

Thanks, Chris... actually I wasn't attempting to answer the direct question... it just seemed to clarify that even at 1,000 feet speration, they would be safe as well as to shed light on other posters discussion re: the subject...

Thanks, again... (You've been on Answer Bank for a long time... maybe even before I came aboard)

[Buenchico]

You're a year older than me (in AB terms), Clanad!

You joined in Sept 04; I joined in Sept 05

[Clanad]

Ah, I remember well when you first entered... always entertaining! I thought your choice of nom deplume quite unique since I had spent a great deal of time in Mexico, Central and South America...enough to appreciate the play on words...

[Buenchico]

Be wary of using phrases like "quite unique", Clanad. The language pedants around here are quick to pick up on such things! ;-)

A play on words? My username actually comes about because I used to drink with a Spanish guy who, after a few drinks, would frequently slap me forcefully on my back and declare "Tu eres un buen chico. Si, tu eres un muy buen chico". That happened so often that I eventually acquired the nickname 'Buenchico' in that pub!

[Clanad]

You probably mean a Spanish guy as in from Spain... "Chico" is used rarely in Mexico... it has a less than cordial meaning... along the same lines as "***"... except in Gudalajara they can stretch out the "***" and purposely exaggerate rolling the "r" and it sounds down right sinister... and often meant as such! (smiling all the time)...

[Clanad]

Hmmm... the robots don't like G r i ng o or so it seems...

[Buenchico]

Thanks for the explanation, Clanad.

In Spain 'buen chico' (literally 'good boy') roughly translates as 'fine fellow'. (Using the adjective 'buen' in front of a noun, rather than 'bueno' after it, adds emphasis to it).

Anyway, it's now roughly a quarter past one her in the UK, so I'm off to bed. (I say 'roughly 'cos my watch packed up about two hours ago - I'm hoping that it's just the battery!)

Goodnight!