Plane released too early, says minister

The minister responsible for civil aviation was only informed about Saturday's potential mid-air collision involving an Air Malta plane a day after the actual incident, it was learnt yesterday.

By that time, the Department of Civil Aviation had already given permission to the pilot of the small Italian aircraft involved in the incident to leave Malta, after detaining him for five hours. When contacted, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea made it clear he was not happy with the way the DCA appears to have handled the case: "I want clear declarations from the DCA. I personally believe the Italian airplane was released too quickly. The DCA was happy with the declarations given by the pilot. My feeling is different."

An impact between the Boeing 737 en route from Rome with some 80 passengers on board, and the Storm light aircraft was averted by a mere 50 feet, according to the airliner pilot, whose timely intervention saved the day. Both aircraft were flying over the highly populated area of Zebbug and Attard on Saturday afternoon.

The pilot of the Italian registered ultra light aircraft took off from Gela in Sicily, purportedly to fly to Lampedusa and back, but, landed in Malta as he was short of fuel. The two-seater Storm aircraft weighs some 450 kilogrammes and is considered to be one of the most modern ultra-light aircraft.

It was not equipped with a transponder and consequently the Air Malta pilots could not spot the impending danger on the traffic-collision avoidance system, until their jet came face to face with it.

Mr Galea said he had asked the DCA for an official statement explaining how it had dealt with the incident.

"I would have much preferred if I was informed at once. The DCA does not need to notify me about everything it does, but what we're talking about here is a potential disaster," said the minister, who added that he was prepared to take remedial action, if the need arises. In a statement issued later yesterday, the Competitiveness Ministry said that immediately after the ultra-light aircraft landed, the DCA launched an investigation into the incident and documentary evidence was obtained from the pilot.

Radio functionality tests were carried out on the department's instructions to ensure that communication with Air Traffic Control could be established.

The investigations are still ongoing and the Italian civil aviation authorities have been informed of the incident. In the meantime, both Air Malta and the Air Traffic Control section are also carrying out their own investigations into the incident.