Two Qantas' jets involved in near mid-air collision

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is investigating the near-collision of two Qantas planes over Adelaide.

It was revealed that the QF581, the Sydney to Perth flight was flying at 38,000ft and the Perth to Sydney flight was at 39,000ft when the Perth-bound flight requested to climb to 40,000ft.

The Airservices Australia has stood down a traffic controller who gave permission for the ascension when the on board warning system went off and the pilots sought evasive action, leading to the near-miss collision, thetelegraph.co.au reports.

Qantas said that the pilots followed standard operating procedures in re-establishing the required separation distance following the alert from the onboard notification system, adding that there was no impact to passengers.

According to the report, Qantas said that the two Airbus A330 aircrafts had a loss of separation, when one flying from Sydney to Perth was granted permission by air traffic control to climb.

Airservices Australia said that it would provide updates to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and would cooperate fully with any investigation.