On 1 May 2008 at about 2216 Eastern Standard Time, an Airbus Industrie A320 aircraft, registered VH-VQS, was conducting the runway 32L (left) instrument landing system missed approach procedure at Launceston Aerodrome, Tasmania. During the climb, the A320 came into close proximity with a Boeing Company 737 that was manoeuvring at 3,100 ft above mean sea level about 5 NM (9 km) to the north-west of the aerodrome. The lateral separation between the aircraft reduced to within 3 NM (5 km) and zero vertical separation as the A320 climbed through 3,100 ft. No Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System alerts were generated during the occurrence.
Both aircraft were operating scheduled passenger services from Melbourne, Victoria and had arrived at Launceston outside the normal operating hours of the Launceston air traffic control tower. Separation between the aircraft was therefore the responsibility of the respective flight crews. In this instance, a breakdown in the communication and interpretation of the respective flight crews' separation planning contributed to the proximity event.
