2002 Überlingen mid-air collision

2002 mid-air collision over Germany November 2025 June 2022 Accident 2002 Überlingen mid-air collisionBAL Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937DHL International Aviation ME Flight 611 2002 07 01 y Mid-air collision Überlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany 47 46 42 N 9 10 26 E inline,title region:DE-BW_type:landmark_scale:30000 71 0 Tupolev Tu-154M BAL Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M RA-85816 at Sharjah International Airport (SHJ, OMSJ) in March 2002.jpg RA-85816, the Tupolev Tu-154M involved in the collision, seen at Sharjah International Airport in March 2002 BAL Bashkirian Airlines V92937 BTC2937 BRAVO TANGO CHARLIE 2937Note Peter Nielsen referred to the flight as "Bravo Tango Charlie 2937" instead of the airline callsign. RA-85816 Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia Barcelona El Prat Airport, Barcelona, Spain 60 9 69 69 0 Boeing 757-23APF DHL Boeing 757-23APF A9C-DHL at Brussels Airport on June 24, 2002.jpg A9C-DHL, the Boeing 757-23APF involved in the collision, seen one week before the collision DHL International Aviation ME ES611 DHX611 DILMUN 611 A9C-DHL Bahrain International Airport, Manama, Bahrain"Mid-air collision of 1 July 2002: sequence of events" (Skyguide). https://web.archive.org/web/20110927231117/http://www.skyguide.ch/en/MediaRelations/MediaReleases/ArchivedReleases/INMR2002_07_02M_UEBERLINGEN_SEQUENCE_OF_EVENTS.pdf 27 September 2011 Orio al Serio Airport, Bergamo, Italy Brussels Airport, Brussels, Belgium 2 2 0 2 On 1 July 2002, BAL Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154 passenger jet, and DHL International Aviation ME Flight 611, a Boeing 757 cargo jet, collided in mid-air over Überlingen, a southern German town on Lake Constance, near the German-Swiss border. All of the passengers and crew aboard both planes were killed, resulting in a total death toll of 71 including 52 children.http://www.aktuell.ru/russland/hintergrund_information/passagierliste_flug_2937_der_verunglueckten_tu_154_der_bashkirian_airlines_5.html Passenger List aktuell.ru de live https://web.archive.org/web/20081029064630/http://www.aktuell.ru/russland/hintergrund_information/passagierliste_flug_2937_der_verunglueckten_tu_154_der_bashkirian_airlines_5.html 29 October 2008 21 November 2008 The official investigation by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (de Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung; BFU) identified the main cause of the collision to be a number of shortcomings on the part of the Swiss air traffic control (ATC) service in charge of the sector involved, as well as ambiguities in the procedures regarding the use of the traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) on board.19 May 2004 Investigation Report AX001-1-2/02 (English) https://www.bfu-web.de/EN/Publications/FinalReports/2002/Report_02_AX001-1-2_Ueberlingen_Report.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1 live https://web.archive.org/web/20230730132425/https://www.bfu-web.de/EN/Publications/FinalReports/2002/Report_02_AX001-1-2_Ueberlingen_Report.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1 30 July 2023 27 December 2024 German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation AX001-1-2/02110Section 3.2 "Causes", page 110 On 24 February 2004, Peter Nielsen, the air traffic controller on duty at the time of the collision, was murdered in an apparent act of revenge by Vitaly Kaloyev, a Russian architect whose wife and two children died in the accident.Bott Martin Paterson Tony 26 October 2005 Father of air-crash victims guilty of revenge killing The Independent United Kingdom https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/father-of-air-crash-victims-guilty-of-revenge-killing-322535.html live subscription 4 November 2017 https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/father-of-air-crash-victims-guilty-of-revenge-killing-322535.html 1 May 2022Wolfsteller Pilar 26 October 2005 Father 'saw black' as he killed air traffic controller The Scotsman Edinburgh http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=455&id=2146352005 18 January 2007 https://archive.today/20080119195432/http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=455&id=2146352005 19 January 2008Harding Luke Paton Walsh Nick 28 February 2004 Nothing left to lose: grief-crazed murder suspect haunted by family's air deaths The Guardian London https://www.theguardian.com/russia/article/0,2763,1158361,00.html 8 April 2008 Background Tupolev aircraft and crew BAL Bashkirian Airlines flight BTC2937 was a chartered flight from Moscow, Russia, to Barcelona, Spain, carrying 60 passengers and 9 crew.https://casefilepodcast.com/case-106-peter-nielsen-part-1/ Case 106: Peter Nielsen (Part 1) 2 February 2019 Casefile: True Crime Podcast en-US Forty-six of the passengers were Russian schoolchildren from the city of Ufa, in Bashkortostan, on a school trip organised by the local UNESCO committee to the Costa Daurada beach area of Catalonia.http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=455&id=738632002 https://web.archive.org/web/20050330222255/http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=455&id=738632002 30 March 2005 Jet pilot's 14 seconds dilemma before fatal crash 18 January 2007 Gallagher Paul The Scotsman Edinburgh 9 July 20022 July 2002 Vain attempt to avert deadly crash CNN http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/07/02/midair.crash1340/index.html 9 April 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100514125708/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/07/02/midair.crash1340/index.html 14 May 2010http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001265/126505e.pdf Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on receiving the International Prize of St Andrew for promoting dialogue among civilizations Matsuura Koïchiro Koïchiro Matsuura 3 July 2002 UNESCO 9 April 2010http://archive.nsnews.com/issues02/w070102/071302/news/071302nn2.html Family devastated by pilot's death 18 January 2007 Wild Matthew North Shore News https://web.archive.org/web/20110714203805/http://archive.nsnews.com/issues02/w070102/071302/news/071302nn2.html 14 July 2011 Most of the parents of the children were high-ranking officials in Bashkortostan.4 July 2002 Children's holiday party on doomed plane CNN http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/07/02/russia.crash/ 28 April 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100512130944/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/07/02/russia.crash/ 12 May 2010 One of the fathers was the head of the local UNESCO committee.http://www.newsru.com/world/02jul2002/aviacrash.html В небе Германии столкнулись Ту-154 и Boeing 757: 71 человек погиб NEWSru ru In the skies of Germany, Tu-154 and Boeing 757 collided: 71 people died 24 July 2016 They travelled on an overnight train to Moscow and arrived on 29 June, then, as their driver accidentally took them to the wrong airport, they missed their original flight. They remained there for two days until 1 July in order to find the arranged chartered flight. Flight 2937 departed from Moscow Domodedovo Airport at 22:48 Moscow Time (18:48 UTC) bound for Barcelona International Airport (now Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport).https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/03/world/anguish-over-a-flight-s-deadly-delay.html Anguish Over a Flight's Deadly Delay The New York Times Tavernise Sabrina 3 July 2002 27 June 2022 The aircraft was a 1995-built Tupolev Tu-154M, with aircraft registration RA 85816. The flight was piloted by an experienced Russian crew: 52-year-old captain Alexander Mikhailovich Gross (ru Александр Михайлович Гросс) and 40-year-old first officer Oleg Pavlovich Grigoriev (ru Олег Павлович Григорьев). The captain had more than 12,000 flight hours (including 4,918 hours on the Tu-154) to his credit. Grigoriev, the chief pilot of Bashkirian Airlines, had 8,500 hours of flying experience (with 4,317 hours on the Tu-154) and his task was to evaluate Captain Gross's performance throughout the flight.Deadly Crossroads Mayday Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic Channel 2 4 2004 Murat Akhatovich Itkulov (ru Мурат Ахатович Иткулов), a 41-year-old pilot with close to 7,900 flight hours (4,181 of them on the Tu-154), who was normally the first officer, did not officially serve on duty because this was the captain's assessment flight. Sergei Gennadievich Kharlov (ru Сергей Геннадьевич Харлов), a 50-year-old flight navigator with approximately 13,000 flight hours (including 6,421 hours on the Tu-154), and Oleg Irikovich Valeyev (ru Олег Ирикович Валеев), a 37-year-old flight engineer who had almost 4,200 flight hours (all of which were on the Tu-154), joined the three pilots in the cockpit. Boeing aircraft and crew DHL International Aviation ME flight 611 was a 1990-built Boeing 757-23APF in service with DHL International and registered in Bahrain as A9C DHL. The flight was being flown by two Bahrain-based pilots,http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/07/02/midair.crash1340/index.html Vain attempt to avert deadly crash 2 July 2002 9 April 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100514125708/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/07/02/midair.crash1340/index.html 14 May 2010 CNNhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2081653.stm British pilot 'tried to avert disaster' 2 July 2002 8 April 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080506020219/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2081653.stm 6 May 2008 BBC live 47-year-old British Captain Paul Phillips and 34-year-old Canadian first officer Brant Campioni, who had to fly the second leg of the journey.http://archive.nsnews.com/issues02/w070102/071302/news/071302nn2.html Family devastated by pilot's death Wild Matthew North Shore News https://web.archive.org/web/20110714203805/http://archive.nsnews.com/issues02/w070102/071302/news/071302nn2.html 14 July 2011 18 January 2007 Both pilots were very experienced — Phillips had logged close to 12,000 flight hours (including 4,145 hours on the 757) and Campioni had accumulated more than 6,600 flight hours, with 176 of them on the Boeing 757. Campioni had also previously worked as an air cadet and corporal in the Canadian Military Engineers.Cpl Brant Campioni (Ret'd) https://cmea-agmc.ca/cpl-brant-campioni-retd The Canadian Military Engineers Association 23 May 2023 At the time of the accident, the aircraft was en route from Bahrain International Airport in Manama, Bahrain, to Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, with a stop at Orio al Serio Airport in Bergamo, Italy, and departed Bergamo at 23:06 CEST (21:06 UTC). Accident thumb|CGI rendering of the accident Germany 1 Site of the crash Green pog.svg 47 46 9 10 right 220 right The crash site, as shown within Germany thumb|Skyguide Air Navigation Center Zürich in Wangen bei Dübendorf The airspace was controlled from Zürich, Switzerland, by the Swiss federal airspace control Skyguide. Air traffic controller Peter Nielsen, the only controller handling the airspace, was burdened with working two workstations at the same time. At 23:21 CEST (21:21 UTC),Transcript of original tape recording https://tailstrike.com/media/32pktlhs/020702.pdf 28 December 2024 Cockpit Voice Recorder Database en DHL Flight 611 reported to the area control center responsible for southern German airspace. Nielsen then instructed Flight 611 to climb from flight level 260 (26000 ft m on) to flight level 320 (32000 ft m on). Flight 611 requested permission to continue the climb to flight level 360 (36000 ft m) to save fuel. Nielsen permitted Flight 611 to climb after about four to five minutes, after which Flight 611 reached the desired altitude at 23:29. Meanwhile, Flight 2937 contacted Nielsen at 23:30, which also reported to be at flight level 360. Nielsen acknowledged the flight, but did not assign a different altitude to either aircraft. That meant that both were now at the same altitude and on a collision course. At 23:34:49 CEST (21:34:49 UTC), about a minute before the collision, Flight 2937's TCAS instructed them to climb; seconds later, Nielsen, realizing the oncoming danger, contacted Flight 2937 and instructed the pilot to descend to flight level 350 (1000 ft lower) to avoid collision with crossing traffic (Flight 611). The crew of Flight 2937 disengaged the autopilot and initiated their descent at 23:35, obeying the controller instead of the TCAS. At about the same time, the TCAS on Flight 611 instructed the crew of that aircraft to descend.111–113Section 4 "Safety Recommendations", pages 111–113 The collision would thus not have occurred if both the aircraft's crews had obeyed the TCAS's instructions.34Section 1.16.2 "ACAS/TCAS II analysis", page 34 Flight 611's pilots followed their TCAS instructions and initiated a descent, but could not immediately inform Nielsen as he was dealing with Flight 2937. The crew of Flight 2937, however, descended as instructed by Nielsen,104–106Section 2.7 "Analysis summary", pages 104–106 contrary to the TCAS's instructions which advised the crew to climb. Both planes were now descending. Unaware of the TCAS-issued alerts, Nielsen repeated his instruction to Flight 2937 to descend, giving the crew incorrect information as to the position of the DHL plane, telling them that the plane was to the right (2 o'clock position) when it was in fact to the left (10 o'clock position).76Section 2.4.1 "ATC Zurich", page 76 About eight seconds before the collision, Flight 611's descent rate was about 2400 ft/min m/s flip on, not quite as rapid as the 2500 to 3000 ft/min m/s on flip range advised by the TCAS. Flight 611, responding to the developing situation, increased its descent rate.6–9Section 1.1.1 "Boeing B757-200", pages 6–7Section 1.1.2 "Tupolev TU154M", pages 7–9 Eight seconds before the collision, Flight 2937's crew became aware of the situation when they gained visual sight of Flight 611 incoming from the left, and, two seconds before the collision, obeyed their TCAS instruction and attempted to put the aircraft into a climb. Unfortunately, the collision had by then become inevitable. The two aircraft collided at 23:35:32 CEST (21:35:32 UTC), at almost a right angle, at an altitude of 34890 ft m flip on, with Flight 611's vertical stabilizer slicing completely through Flight 2937's fuselage just ahead of the wings. Flight 2937 broke into several pieces, scattering wreckage into the Brachenreute neighborhood over a wide area. The nose section of the aircraft fell vertically, while the tail section with the engines continued, stalled, and fell. Many of the children's bodies fell in the field just southeast of the memorial.Two Planes, One Disaster! Mayday Air Disaster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB3Vi5LiFKw 2024-06-14 2026-01-31 YouTube Mayday: Air Disaster 23:00 Flight 611, now with 80% of its vertical stabilizer lost, entered a flat spin dive, and continued for a further 7 km mi nmi out for two minutes, before crashing into a wooded area close to the village of Taisersdorf at a 70° downward angle. Each engine ended up several hundred meters away from the main wreckage after being torn from the plane due to airframe stress, causing the black boxes to stop before the plane hit the ground, and the tail section was torn from the fuselage by trees just before impact.19–33Section 1.12 "Wreckages and impacts information", pages 19–33 All 69 people on board Flight 2937 and the two crew members on board Flight 611 died.9Section 1.2 "Injuries to persons", page 9 Other factors in the crash Only one air traffic controller (ATC), Peter Nielsen of ACC Zurich, was controlling the airspace through which the aircraft were flying. The other controller on duty was resting in another room for the night. This was against Skyguide's regulations, but had been a common practice for years and was known and tolerated by management. Maintenance work was being carried out on the main radar image processing system, which meant that the controllers were forced to use a fallback system. Telephone systems were also under maintenance, preventing contact between other air traffic controllers. A delayed Aero Lloyd flight approached Friedrichshafen at a time when no additional landings were expected that night, and with the telephone system under maintenance, Nielsen was forced to remain in contact with the pilots until they came within radio range of the Friedrichshafen tower, while the other two planes neared collision.35–42Section 1.17.1 "ATC Zurich", pages 35–42 The ground-based optical collision warning system, which would have alerted the controller to the pending collision about two minutes before it happened,88Section 2.6.1.4 "Warning systems", page 88 had been switched off for maintenance. Nielsen was unaware of this.89 An aural short-term conflict alert warning system released a warning addressed to workstation RE SUED at 23:35:00 (32 seconds before the collision). This warning was not heard by anyone present at that time, although no error in this system could be found in a subsequent technical audit;  however, whether or not this audible warning is functional is not something that is technically logged. Even if Nielsen had heard this warning, at that time finding a useful resolution order by the ATC was impossible.89 Deviating statements in the official report thumb|upright|A temporary memorial at Überlingen's Sosa Fountain All countries involved could add additional "deviating" statements to the official report. Bahrain, Switzerland, and Russia did submit positions that were published with the official report. The deviating statements were published verbatim as an appendix to the report by the BFU investigators.Appendices/Deviating positions for Investigation Report AX001-1-2/02 MAY 2004 http://www.bfu-web.de/EN/Publications/Investigation%20Report/2002/Report_02_AX001-1-2_Ueberlingen_Appendix_2-10.pdf?__blob=publicationFile,templateId=raw,property=publicationFile.pdf/Report_02_AX001-1-2_%C3%9Cberlingen_Appendix_2-10.pdf 5 May 2008 German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation The statement by Bahrain, the home country of the DHL plane, mostly agrees with the findings of the report. It says that the report should have put less emphasis on the actions of individuals and more on the faults within Skyguide's organization and management. Bahrain's statement also mentions the lack of crew resource management in the Tupolev's cockpit as a factor in the crash. Russia states that the Russian pilots were unable to obey the TCAS advisory to climb; the advisory was given when they were already at 35500 ft flip on, while the controller wrongly stated conflicting traffic was above them at 36000 ft flip on. Also, the ATC gave the wrong position of the DHL plane (2 o'clock instead of the actual 10 o'clock).https://casefilepodcast.com/case-106-peter-nielsen-part-2/ Case 106: Peter Nielsen (Part 2) 9 February 2019 Casefile: True Crime Podcast en-US Russia asserts that the DHL crew had a "real possibility" to avoid a collision, since they were able to hear the conversation between the Russian crew and the controller. Switzerland notes that the Tupolev was about 33 m on below the flight level ordered by the Swiss controller, and still descending at 1900 ft/min flip on. The Swiss say that this was also a cause of the accident. Switzerland also requested that the BFU make a formal finding that the TCAS advisories would have been useful if obeyed immediately; the BFU declined to do so. Aftermath thumb|A memorial plaque thumb|The Überlingen memorial Nielsen needed medical attention due to traumatic stress caused by the accident.3 July 2002 Air crash safety device switched off BBC News BBC https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2087253.stm 14 July 2009 At Skyguide, his former colleagues maintained a vase with a white rose over Nielsen's former workstation.http://www.skyguide.ch/en/Dossiers/DossierUeberlingen/ Information regarding the air accident at Überlingen on 1 July 2002 Skyguide 14 July 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20091110144925/http://www.skyguide.ch/en/Dossiers/DossierUeberlingen 10 November 2009 Skyguide, after initially having blamed the Russian pilot for the accident, accepted full responsibility and asked relatives of the victims for forgiveness.25 October 2005 Plane crash killing trial starts BBC News BBC https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4375338.stm 8 April 2008 The Broken Pearl Necklace memorial was built in memory of the incident near Brachenreute, where much of the wreckage of flight 2937 landed. Skyguide paid compensation to the families of the dead children; the compensation amount was about CHF 30,00036,000 (30000 CHE 2003 -2 USD at the time). The Swiss Federal Court turned down appeals from some relatives for higher compensation in 2011.https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/court-upholds-skyguide-compensation/30259716 Court upholds Skyguide compensation SWI swissinfo.ch 19 September 2017 en On 27 July 2006, a court in Konstanz decided that Germany should pay compensation to Bashkirian Airlines. The court found that Germany was legally responsible for the actions of Skyguide. The government appealed the ruling,http://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/stz/page/detail.php/1688427 Katastrophe von Überlingen – Flugunglück beschäftigt Landgericht 20 April 2008 Stuttgarter Zeitung de Disaster of Überlingen – Flight accident employs district court dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080421192754/http://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/stz/page/detail.php/1688427 21 April 2008 but in late 2013, Bashkirian Airlines and Germany reached a tacit agreement, ending the court case before a decision on the legal issues was reached.http://www.suedkurier.de/nachrichten/baden-wuerttemberg/12-Jahre-nach-dem-Flugzeugunglueck-bei-Ueberlingen-Wer-verantwortet-den-Himmel-ueber-Suedbaden;art417930,7194240 12 Jahre nach dem Flugzeugunglück bei Überlingen: Wer verantwortet den Himmel über Südbaden? Köhler Nils 23 August 2014 Südkurier 18 July 2015 de 12 years after the aircraft accident near Überlingen: who is responsible for the skies over Südbaden? In another case before the court in Konstanz, Skyguide's liability insurance is suing Bashkirian Airlines for 2.5 million euro in damages. The case was opened in March 2008; the legal questions are expected to be difficult, as the airline has filed for bankruptcy under Russian law.What became of this case? October 2020thumb|The "Broken Pearl Necklace" memorialA criminal investigation of Skyguide began in May 2004. On 7 August 2006, a Swiss prosecutor filed manslaughter charges against eight employees of Skyguide. The prosecutor called for prison terms up to 15 months if found guilty.15 May 2007 Swiss go on trial over air crash BBC News BBC https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6656487.stm 15 May 2007 The verdict was announced in September 2007. Three of the four managers convicted were given suspended prison terms and the fourth was ordered to pay a fine. Another four Skyguide employees were cleared of any wrongdoing.4 September 2007 Four guilty over Swiss air crash BBC News BBC https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6977136.stm 8 April 2008 Murder of Peter Nielsen Devastated by the death of his wife and two children aboard flight 2937, Vitaly Kaloyev, a Russian architect, held Peter Nielsen personally responsible for their deaths. He tracked down and stabbed Nielsen to death, in the presence of Nielsen's wife and three children, at his home in Kloten, near Zürich, on 24 February 2004.http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/02/25/swiss.stabbing/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20040226025158/http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/02/25/swiss.stabbing/index.html dead 26 February 2004 Swiss air crash controller killed CNN 25 February 2004 29 January 2010 The Swiss police arrested Kaloyev at a local motel shortly afterward, and in 2005, he was sentenced to eight years for manslaughter. However, his sentence was later reduced after a Swiss judge ruled that he had acted with diminished responsibility.https://www.thetimes.com/travel/advice/russia-hails-vitaly-kaloyev-a-hero-tnjz3nswr9h https://archive.today/20170908152828/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-hails-vitaly-kaloyev-a-hero-tnjz3nswr9h 8 September 2017 Russia hails Vitaly Kaloyev a hero Franchetti Mark 10 February 2008 The Sunday Times live London thumb|right|upright|The Skyguide memorial to the aviation accident and killing of Peter Nielsen He was released in November 2007, having spent three and a half years in prison, because his mental condition was not sufficiently considered in the initial sentence. In January 2008, he was appointed deputy construction minister of North Ossetia. Kaloyev was treated as a hero back home at Vladikavkaz, and expressed no regret for his actions, instead blaming the victim for his own death. In 2016, Kaloyev was awarded the highest state medal by the government, the medal "To the Glory of Ossetia". The medal is awarded for the highest achievements, improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of the region, educating the younger generation, and maintaining law and order.Drobotov Аlexy 2 February 2016 ru:Виталия Калоева наградили медалью "Во Славу Осетии" Vitaly Kaloyev awarded with the medal "To the Glory of Ossetia" https://www.stav.kp.ru/daily/26487/3357178/ 4 July 2021 stav.kp.ru ru TCAS and conflicting orders The accident raised questions as to how pilots must react when they receive conflicting orders from TCAS and ATC. TCAS was a relatively new technology at the time of the accident, having been mandatoryTCAS was mandatory for aircraft with a maximum certified take-off weight over 30 tonnes or a seating capacity over 30 passengers. Both aircraft involved in this accident met the criteria for mandatory TCAS installation. in Europe since 2000.45 When TCAS issues a resolution advisory (RA), the pilot flying should respond immediately by directing attention to RA displays and maneuvering as indicated, unless doing so would jeopardise the safe operation of the flight, or unless the flight crew can assure separation with the help of definitive visual acquisition of the aircraft causing the RA.28 February 2011 Introduction to TCAS II Version 7.1 http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/TCAS%20II%20V7.1%20Intro%20booklet.pdf Federal Aviation Administration In responding to a TCAS RA that directs a deviation from assigned altitude, the flight crew should communicate with ATC as soon as practicable after responding to the RA. When the RA is removed, the flight crew should advise ATC that they are returning to their previously assigned clearance or should acknowledge any amended clearance issued. While TCAS is programmed to assume that both crews will promptly follow the system's instructions, the operations manual did not clearly state that TCAS should always take precedence over any ATC commands.103page 103: "Paragraph 6.1 of the TCAS Pilot's Guide states "TCAS 2000 is intended as a back-up to visual collision avoidance, application of 'right-of-way' rules, and ATC separation services", and leaves a degree of ambiguity over the interpretation of the term 'back-up'." The manual described TCAS as "a backup to the ATC system", which could be wrongly interpreted to mean that ATC instructions have higher priority.80page 80 "The wording "TCAS is a backup to the ATC system..." could be interpreted that ATC takes priority to TCAS" This ambiguity was replicated in the Tu-154 Flight Operations Manual, which contained contradictory sections. On the one hand, chapter 8.18.3.4 emphasised the role of ATC and describes TCAS as an "additional aid",53page 53 "For the avoidance of in-flight collisions is the visual control of the situation in the airspace by the crew and the correct execution of all instructions issued by the Air Traffic Controller to be viewed as the most important tool. TCAS is an additional instrument that ensures the timely determination of oncoming traffic, the classification of the risk, and if necessary, planning of an advice for a vertical avoidance manoeuvre." – TU154M Flight Operations Manual while chapter 8.18.3.2 forbade manoeuvres contrary to TCAS.103 The BFU recommended that this ambiguity should be resolved in favor of obeying TCAS advisories even when these were in conflict with ATC instructions.111page 111 "Safety Recommendation 18/2003" Prior incident 2001 Japan Airlines mid-air incident About a year before the incident, another incident had occurred involving confusion between conflicting TCAS and ATC commands. In 2001, two Japanese airliners nearly collided with each other in Japanese airspace. One of the aircraft had received conflicting orders from TCAS and ATC; one pilot followed the instructions of TCAS, while the other did not. A collision was only averted because one of the pilots made evasive manoeuvres based on a visual judgment. The aircraft missed each other by about 135 m ft on, and the abrupt maneuver necessary to avert disaster left 100 occupants injured on one aircraft, some seriously.12 July 2002 Aircraft Accident Investigation Report JAL907/JAL958 http://www.mlit.go.jp/jtsb/eng-air_report/JA8904.pdf 31 October 2015 mlit.go.jp Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission2,176,134,22 Japan published its report 11 days after the Überlingen accident, in it calling on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to make it clear that TCAS advisories should always take precedence over ATC instructions. ICAO accepted this recommendation and amended its regulations in November 2003.Flight Safety Digest, March 2004 Technical solutions Before this accident, a change proposal (CP 112)Change proposal CP112E http://adsb.tc.faa.gov/TCAS/CPs/CP112E.pdf dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090109091211/http://adsb.tc.faa.gov/TCAS/CPs/CP112E.pdf 9 January 2009 for the TCAS II system had been issued. This proposal would have created a "reversal" of the original warning – asking the DHL plane to climb and the Tupolev crew to descend.35 According to an analysis by Eurocontrol, this would have avoided the collision if the DHL crew had received and followed the new instructions and the Tupolev had continued to descend.35 All TCAS II equipped aircraft have been upgraded to support RA reversal.http://www.nbaa.org/ops/cns/tcas/20120330-version-7-1.php TCAS II Version 7.1 Requirements Coming to European Union National Business Aviation Association 30 March 2012 22 February 2015 Additionally, an automatic downlink for TCAS, which would have alerted the controller that a TCAS advisory had been issued to the aircraft under their control, and notified them of the nature of that advisory, had not been deployed worldwide at the time of the accident.50 Recommendations after the accident The investigation report contains a number of recommendations concerning TCAS, calling for upgrades, better training and clearer instructions to the pilots.111–113Section 4 "Safety Recommendations", pages 111–113 The TCAS II system was redesigned, with its ambiguous "Adjust Vertical Speed" RA voice command changed to "Level-Off", to increase proper responses from pilots.Decision criteria for regulatory measures on TCAS II version 7.1 http://www.eurocontrol.int/msa/gallery/content/public/documents/SIRE+_WP7_69D_v1.2.pdf dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110612131435/http://www.eurocontrol.int/msa/gallery/content/public/documents/SIRE+_WP7_69D_v1.2.pdf 12 June 2011 eurocontrol.it EUROCONTROLChludzinski Barbara J. Evaluation of TCAS II Version 7.1 Using the FAA Fast-Time Encounter Generator Model: Project Report ATC-346 Volume 1 https://www.ll.mit.edu/sites/default/files/publication/doc/2018-12/Chludzinski_2009_ATC-346i_WW-18718.pdf 29 April 2009 Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology iv In media Films The crash and the subsequent killing of the ATC were used as the basis of a motion picture produced by German and Swiss TV stations SWR and SF, called Flug in die Nacht – Das Unglück von Überlingen (Flight into the Night – the Accident at Überlingen) (2009), starring Ken Duken as Nielsen and Evgeni Sitochin as Kaloyev.June 2024 The U.S. film Aftermath (2017) is loosely based on the Überlingen mid-air collision, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a character largely based on Kaloyev.Da Costa Diego 24 June 2015 Arnold Schwarzenegger se convertirá en un padre vengativo en el drama '478' es Arnold Schwarzenegger will become a vengeful father in the drama '478' ecartelera.com http://www.ecartelera.com/noticias/23825/arnold-schwarzenegger-padre-vengativo-478June 2024 The Russian film Unforgiven (2018) is based on the Überlingen mid-air collision, with Dmitry Nagiyev portraying Kaloyev.June 2024 Music "Ballad of Vitaly", the closing track on the U.S. rock band Delta Spirit's album History from Below (2010), recounts the story of the midair collision and Vitaly Kaloyev's actions following the crash.14 July 2010 https://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/The-story-of-the-Delta-Spirit-s-murder-ballad-1617710.php The story of the Delta Spirit's murder ballad Houston Chronicle 1 July 2020 The German futurepop band Edge of Dawn alludes to Kaloyev's story and mentions his name in the song "The Flight (Lux)", which appears on their EP The Flight (2005) and their full-length album Enjoy the Fall (2007).https://genius.com/Edge-of-dawn-the-flight-lux-lyrics The Flight [Lux] – Edge Of Dawn Genius.Com 1 July 2020 Russian rock-band "Year of Snake" has created a song 2000 bucks for a cigarette about unrelated topics: friendship, treachery, love and smoking addiction. Later the band lead Alexei Markovnikov has repurposedhttps://osmyslah.ru/pesni/2000-baksov-za-sigaretu Текст «2000 баксов за сигарету», смысл песни, история создания, кто автор («Год змеи», «Диспетчера» или Алексей Марковников) 20 February 2022 some lyrics of the song to create an eponymous air traffic control themed power balladhttps://genius.com/Year-of-snake-2000-2000-bucks-lyrics Год Змеи (Year of Snake) – 2000 баксов (2000 bucks) loosely-based on the accident. The ballad was published using the name of a non-existing rock band "Air traffic controllers". The song text is of the second controller going smoking due to severe smoking addiction, irresponsibly leaving another one to work alone for some time. Podcasts On 3 and 10 February 2019, Casefile True Crime Podcast: "Peter Nielsen", Case 106 (Parts 1 and 2) covered the story of the mid-air collision and subsequent killing of the former Skyguide controller Peter Nielsen, by Russian architect Vitaly Kaloyev.https://www.bfu-web.de/EN/Publications/Investigation%20Report/2002/Report_02_AX001-1-2_Ueberlingen_Report.pdf Investigation Report of a Midair Collision near Überlingen bfu-web.de 1 July 2002 19 July 2019 12 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190212070518/https://www.bfu-web.de/EN/Publications/Investigation%20Report/2002/Report_02_AX001-1-2_Ueberlingen_Report.pdf dead On 12 January 2021, the Hard Landings podcast covered the story in Episode 64: The Überlingen Mid-air Collision.https://www.hardlandingspodcast.com/hard-landings-blog/the-berlingen-mid-air-collision The Überlingen Mid-air Collision 12 January 2021 On 5 May 2022, the Rooster Teeth Black Box Down podcast covered the story in Episode Season 3, episode 17: Accident Ends in Murder / Accident Ends in Murder / The Überlingen Mid-air Collision.Accident Ends in Murder / The Überlingen Mid-air Collision – Black Box Down – S3E17 – Rooster Teeth https://roosterteeth.com/watch/black-box-down-2022-accident-ends-in-murder-the-uberlingen-mid-air-collision en 15 May 2022 On 3 March 2023, the Take to the Sky: the Air Disaster Podcast covered the story in "Episode 137: The Uberlingen Midair Disaster."whatgoesuppodcast 2 March 2023 The Uberlingen Midair Disaster – Take to the Sky Podcast https://taketotheskypodcast.com/uberlingen-midair-disaster/ 16 April 2025 Take to the Sky: The Air Disaster Podcast en-US Television The collision featured in multiple segments of the Canadian TV series Mayday: "Deadly Crossroads", a season-two episode (2005) (called Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the U.S. and Air Crash Investigation in the UK and elsewhere around the world). The dramatisation was broadcast in the United States with the title "A Father's Revenge"; and with the title "Mid-Air Collision" in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Asia. Kaloyev was played by actor Kresimir Bosiljevac, while Nielsen was played by actor Stephen Sparks.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0644757/ "Air Crash Investigation" Deadly Crossroads (TV Episode 2005) en-US 27 June 2024 IMDb "Collision Catastrophe", a season twenty-five episode broadcast in 2025 with an entirely different cast.Überlingen collison on IMDb https://m.imdb.com/title/tt35475789/?ref_=ttep_ep_8 IMDb The flight was also included in a Mayday season-eight (2009) Science of Disaster special titled "System Breakdown",System Breakdown Mayday Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic Channel 8 1 2009 which looked at the role of air traffic controllers in aviation disasters. The National Geographic Channel documentary series Seconds from Disaster featured this mid-air collision in the episode entitled "Collision at 35,000 feet", released on 26 September 2011.Air Crash Disaster Air Crash Investigation DHL Flight 611 Deadly Mid Air Crash The Überlingen Disaster 11 February 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6NId-3CWoE https://web.archive.org/web/20190721092657/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6NId-3CWoE&gl=US&hl=en 21 July 2019 dead The episode is dramatized in the episode "Fatal Flaws" of Why Planes Crash. Theatre In the U.S. off-Broadway play My Eyes Went Dark, which opened 7 June 2017 and closed 2 July, playwright and director Matthew Wilkinson tells Kaloyev's story, which featured, among other characters, Declan Conlon as Kaloyev and Thusitha Jayasundera as his wife. It played at 59E59 Theaters in New York City.July 2019 See also List of mid-air collisions Notes Note References Official report http://www.bfu-web.de/EN/Publications/Investigation%20Report/2002/Report_02_AX001-1-2_Ueberlingen_Report.pdf?__blob=publicationFile Investigation Report AX001-1-2/02 (English) 19 May 2004 17 January 2007 German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation AX001-1-2/02 https://web.archive.org/web/20070123052035/http://www.bfu-web.de/cln_003/nn_53140/EN/Publications/Investigation_20Report/2002/Report__02__AX001-1-2___C3_9Cberlingen__Report%2CtemplateId%3Draw%2Cproperty%3DpublicationFile.pdf/Report_02_AX001-1-2_%C3%9Cberlingen_Report.pdf 23 January 2007 live 2 BFU External links Überlingen mid-air collision Final Report https://web.archive.org/web/20070123052035/http://www.bfu-web.de/cln_003/nn_53140/EN/Publications/Investigation_20Report/2002/Report__02__AX001-1-2___C3_9Cberlingen__Report%2CtemplateId%3Draw%2Cproperty%3DpublicationFile.pdf/Report_02_AX001-1-2_%C3%9Cberlingen_Report.pdf 23 January 2007 – German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (English) Appendices 1 and 3 (Archive) Appendices 2 and 4–10 (Archive) Final Report – German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation de – The German version is the version of record. Appendices 1 and 3 de Appendix 2 de "Information regarding the air accident at Überlingen on 1 July 2002." Skyguide. Davies, Barbara. "THE LOST CHILDREN; EXCLUSIVE Plane crash that robbed a Russian city of its youth." The Daily Mirror. 13 July 2002. – Includes partial victim list District Court of Konstanz Bashkirian Airlines v. Federal Republic of Germany de Photo documentary from Owingen Fire Dept. (German) – Official website from Owingen Fire Dept. with photos from a firefighter's perspective Identifying the factors that contributed to the Ueberlingen mid-air collision (PDF 322 KB) – University of Illinois Gallery of crash victim Kyrill Degtyarev's works 'The Uberlingen mid-air collision: Lessons for the management of control rooms in the process industries', Loss Prevention Bulletin issue 196, 2007, IChemE, UK. 'Work Practice Simulation of Complex Human-Automation Systems: The Brahms Generalized Überlingen Model' https://web.archive.org/web/20150628173135/http://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/SSS/SSS14/paper/download/7672/7766 28 June 2015 On conflicting orders ACAS II bulletin from Eurocontrol: Follow the RA!(PDF) ACAS guiding material: CAP 579 (PDF) Script for Case Study – Mid Air Collision over Ueberlingen Aviation Germany Russia Switzerland 2000s Category:2000s in Baden-Württemberg Category:2002 in Germany Category:2002 in international relations Category:2002 in Russia Category:2002 in Switzerland Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving cargo aircraft Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 757 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Tupolev Tu-154 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents caused by air traffic controller error Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2002 Category:DHL Category:Germany–Russia relations Category:Germany–Switzerland relations Category:July 2002 in Germany Category:Mid-air collisions in Germany Category:Mid-air collisions involving airliners Category:Russia–Switzerland relations Category:UNESCO