A Boeing 737 and a Cessna Caravan came within 700 ft vertically and less than a mile horizontally near Ballina (New South Wales, Australia) Byron Gateway Airport, in part because the Caravan pilot had “an incorrect mental model of the traffic situation” and the 737 crew missed the Caravan’s early radio calls, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says.
In its final report on the Sept. 16, 2021, separation occurrence, the ATSB said that as the Virgin Australia Airlines 737, carrying 47 passengers and six crewmembers on a flight from Sydney, neared Runway 24 at the uncontrolled Ballina Airport, its pilots finally heard a radio transmission from the Caravan, which was entering the opposite direction Runway 06 for takeoff. The separation occurrence took place soon afterward, during the 737’s missed approach.
An air traffic controller based in Brisbane provided traffic information through the Ballina Airport surveillance flight information service (SFIS)
