NTSB CAROL · Event
Event OPS24LA011
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The local controller’s loss of situational awareness, inadequate provision of traffic advisory or safety alert information, and lack of positive control, that resulted in a near-midair collision.
Factual narrative
A Robinson R-44 helicopter N744AF, VW02 (View 02), and a Diamond DA20-C1 Eclipse, N857PA were involved in a near midair collision (NMAC) approximately 1.7 miles west of the North Las Vegas Airport (VGT). At the time of the incident the VGT airport traffic control tower (ATCT) was staffed by two controllers with three personnel available. The local control 1 (LC1), local control 2 (LC2), local assist (LA1), and controller in charge (CIC) positions were all combined to the LC1 position. The ground control (GC), flight data (FD), and clearance delivery (CD) positions were combined at the GC position. According to ATC audio recordings and post event interviews, the LC1 controller had instructed N857PA to enter left traffic for runway 30L. About 25 seconds later, VW02 requested a west departure from the transient ramp and the LC1 controller advised departure would be at their own risk. About three minutes later, VW02 and N857PA experienced a NMAC after VW02 had departed to the west and N857PA was on a southeast heading, approaching the mid-field left downwind position for runway 30L.The LC1 controller’s expectation that VW02 would have departed sooner led to an inadequate scan and loss of situational awareness. Additionally, the LC1 controller did not provide adequate or timely traffic advisory or safety alert information to either aircraft as required in FAA Order JO 7110.65AA, Air Traffic Control. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Performance calculations-ATC personnel
- — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other aircraft-ATC personnel
- — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-ATC personnel
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-ATC personnel
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-ATC personnel
- — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-ATC personnel
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-(general)-ATC personnel
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-ATC personnel
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Expectation/assumption-ATC personnel
- — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other aircraft-ATC personnel
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2023_OPS24LA011.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (midair collision). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Airspace Saturation and Midair Collision Risk: A Case Study at a Class D Airport
Near midair collisions are precursor events to actual collisions and may be an indicator of risk. While previous studies have used reports of near midair collisions to relate factors such as airspace …
- NASA NTRS 2023 · Presentation
The Viability of See-and-Avoid for Midair Collision Avoidance for Urban Air Mobility (UAM)
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an emerging aviation concept that could supplement today’s ground and air transportation systems.
- NASA NTRS 2023 · Presentation
The Viability of See-and-Avoid for Midair Collision Avoidance for UAM
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an emerging aviation concept that could supplement today’s ground and air transportation systems.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Other - Patent
Apparatus for aiding a pilot in avoiding a midair collision between aircraft
An apparatus for aiding a pilot in avoiding a midair collision between aircraft is described. A protected aircraft carries a transmitter, a transponder, a receiver, and a data processor; and an intrud…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2018 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Evaluating Small UAS Near Midair Collision Risk Using AeroScope and ADS-B
As small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) continue to proliferate in the National Airspace System (NAS), near midair collisions are becoming more common.
- NASA NTRS 2011 · Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Midair collisions - The accidents, the systems, and the Realpolitik
Two midair collisions occurring in 1978 are described, and the air traffic control system and procedures in use at the time, human factors implications and political consequences of the accidents are …
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