In the tragic story of the Überlingen disaster, two planes collided in mid-air, ripping away the hopes and dreams of young Russian students. This catastrophe could have been avoided if not for a fundamental blind spot in the global air traffic control system. The accident was a reminder of the divergent impulses between the Russian and Western aviation industries. The story takes us back to 2002 when a school group from Ufa, Russia, embarked on a field trip to Barcelona. Due to a series of unfortunate events, including a mix-up at the airport and airplane malfunctions, the fateful collision occurred near Lake Constance. The lack of proper communication and conflicting instructions from air traffic control and the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) led to the tragic outcome. The story offers a literary and scientific perspective on the profound human tragedy and the deficiencies in the air traffic control system that made it inevitable.
https://admiralcloudberg.medium.com/tears-in-the-rain-the-2002-%C3%BCberlingen-midair-collision-591232d0c51e