08/06/2026
Climb or descend?
In 2001, two aircraft came seconds from colliding mid-air over Japan. A Boeing 747 and a DC-10 were given conflicting instructions, the air traffic control said one thing, but their onboard collision system (TCAS) said another.
For a moment, both aircraft moved toward the same altitude leaving hundreds of lives hanging on a single decision.
Fortunately, the pilots’ last minute maneuvers prevented a disaster, making this one of aviation’s most chilling near misses.
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Sources:
Report
Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) Incident
Aviation Safety Network (ASN)
ICAO TCAS Procedures
Interesting Fact:
After this incident, Japan made TCAS compliance mandatory over ATC instructions in such conflicts to prevent similar near misses worldwide.
So… what would YOU do in that moment?