Air-ground communication, 2 km north-north-west of Hamilton Island Aero., Queensland

On 29 July 2006 at approximately 0917 Eastern Standard Time, an Airbus A320-232 (A320) aircraft, operating under the instrument flight rules (IFR), was on a scheduled passenger service from Sydney, NSW, to Hamilton Island, Qld. The crew was conducting a runway 14 very high frequency omni-directional radio range (VOR) instrument approach to land at Hamilton Island Airport. At that time, a de Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd DH-82A Tiger Moth (Tiger Moth) aircraft, operating under the visual flight rules (VFR), was seen to be near the A320's approach path to the north-west of Hamilton Island. The pilot of the Tiger Moth had not complied with a previous instruction to remain east of the eastern tip of Hamilton Island, which was well to the east of the instrument approach path.

The Hamilton Island aerodrome controller (ADC) issued clearances and instructions to the pilot of the Tiger Moth and to the pilot of the A320 to facilitate traffic management in accordance with published procedures. He was not required to apply a separation standard between an aircraft operating under the IFR and another aircraft operating under the VFR in class D airspace. He was required to provide traffic information to the pilots of both aircraft in class D airspace.

However, the aerodrome controller did not provide traffic information to the pilots of either aircraft in accordance with class D procedures. The pilot of the Tiger Moth did not comply with the air traffic control instructions. The provision of traffic information may have assisted the pilot of the Tiger Moth with situational awareness and helped to ensure that he did not proceed towards the A320 as it approached Hamilton Island.