Investigation into aerial near miss nearing conclusion

An investigation into the near miss involving an Air Malta aircraft and a small Italian plane is expected to be concluded soon and will be published, Transport Minister Austin Gatt has said.

The incident took place on April 21 last year when a light aircraft got into the flight path of an Air Malta Boeing 737 flying over Zebbug and Attard as it came in to land. An incident was averted thanks to quick action by the Air Malta pilot.

Censu Galea, who was transport minister up to three months ago, raised the issue in Parliament when he asked Dr Gatt if the report had been completed.

Last July The Times had reported that investigations were unlikely to apportion blame on anybody, amid "conflicting evidence".

While tests carried out on the radar equipment showed it was working properly at the time of the incident, controllers insisted the light aircraft never appeared on their screens. Real-time audio recordings showed there was nothing to indicate unknown traffic to the controllers.

The chief inspector of air accidents has ordered further tests on the airport's radar equipment in the aftermath of the near miss.

"We need to carry out all the necessary tests to make sure something like this will never happen again," Mr Galea had said at the time.

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