San Luis Obispo midair collision

I question the NTSB’s finding of “Probable Cause” regarding the midair collision that occurred near San Luis Obispo, CA on August 24, 1984. The controllers claimed that the VFR target symbol of the Rockwell Commander was NOT displayed, yet the NTSB concluded that it had to have been displayed...and that the controllers simply failed to observe it.  Having reviewed hundreds upon hundreds of pages of documentation from that accident, I could find no mention whatsoever of “radar sort boxes,” nor could I find any mention of "selective rejection.”  I have concluded that a plausible explanation exists wherein the Los Angeles Center (ZLA) controllers may NOT have had the VFR target symbol of the Rockwell Commander presented on their display, due to the software process termed “selective rejection.”  This software process is something that controllers have absolutely no control over.

To understand more about this, see the slide show I created for my RTUD presentation at the Sixth International Symposium on Aviation Psychology (click Lusch_RTUD_twice_revived_slide_show.pdf).

Thomas G. Lusch

May 27, 2009

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