[ARC5] loss of LBG

[Michael A. Bittner]

Only tangentially related to the LBG story, I know, but anyway;
Regarding bearings and such received from a ground station, once during a GCA approach during "special VFR" conditions, the ground controller told me to turn left to a heading of 360 degrees.  Since, at that moment, I was already heading right on 360 degrees, I did nothing.  What would you have done?  A few seconds later, a Lockheed Constellation rumbled by, from right to left in front of me, a near mid-air collision situation.  IMHO, the controller should have said, "Make a 360 degree turn to the left for spacing".
Mike, W6MAB


----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Peter Schleuss 
  To: arc5 at mailman.qth.net 
  Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2014 8:32 AM
  Subject: [ARC5] loss of LBG


  At least he had realised that something was not in order
  which made him breakt radio silence and ask for a
  DF bearing.
  If in this movie  the conversation in the inter-allied DF station
  was reproduced correctly, they gave him a bearing of 330 degrees,
  which must have made him believe to be still inbound to Soluch.

  The poor nav had no chance to know that this bearing was
  ambiguous resp. was not the bearing of a radial originating FROM this
  land based  DF station but that of a position line leading THROUGH
  this station. In my opinion, knowing that, they could not
  take unambiguous bearings, they should have reported
  to him: 330 / 150 degrees.
  This would in fact still  not have helped him to find out, whether LBG
  was still inbound or already outbound, but at least, it would have
  told him, that he would have to use other means of navigation to
  decide upon LBG's postion.

  In my opinion stating only 330 degrees put the final nail in the coffin.

  73 de Peter