Narrative:

Kona tower called for release on 3 aircraft. Aircraft X who was given a 350 heading. Then; aircraft Y who was given a 300 heading and visual separation with aircraft X. Then; the third aircraft was aircraft Z who was given a 250 heading and visual separation with aircraft X and aircraft Y. The problem was aircraft Z turning northbound into the two previous departures; which caused an imminent collusion situation. I had to turn the aircraft Z below the minimum vectoring altitudes for the safety of all passengers on all 3 aircraft. This could have been a mid-air. When I asked aircraft Z to verify he was given a 250 heading; he said he was given a 350 heading; which made the unsafe situation. Luckily; disaster was averted; but this was too close for comfort. At one point; I think aircraft Z and aircraft Y came within 500 feet of each other; and separation was lost. I called kona tower to verify that kona tower did issue the 250 heading to aircraft Z. The kona tower controller stated he did; and that if aircraft Z did depart on a 350 heading; it was a pilot deviation. Later; kona tower called the supervisor and said that kona tower was at fault and issued a 350 heading instead of a 250 heading. This was a hearback/readback error between kona tower and the pilot; or maybe just an incorrect clearance by kona tower. Kona tower needs to be operated by the FAA. Kona approach needs to be opened by the FAA and to work the traffic into kona. These situations involving kona tower are becoming more frequent and more dangerous. Please have kona tower become an FAA facility before we have an actual mid air collision.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: HCF Controller described a conflict event involving three successive IFR departures from Kona; the last turning into a previous aircraft; the reporter suggesting Kona ATC be converted to an FAA operation.

Narrative: Kona Tower called for release on 3 aircraft. Aircraft X who was given a 350 heading. Then; Aircraft Y who was given a 300 heading and visual separation with Aircraft X. Then; the third aircraft was Aircraft Z who was given a 250 heading and visual separation with Aircraft X and Aircraft Y. The problem was Aircraft Z turning Northbound into the two previous departures; which caused an imminent collusion situation. I had to turn the Aircraft Z below the minimum vectoring altitudes for the safety of all passengers on all 3 aircraft. This could have been a mid-air. When I asked Aircraft Z to verify he was given a 250 heading; he said he was given a 350 heading; which made the unsafe situation. Luckily; disaster was averted; but this was too close for comfort. At one point; I think Aircraft Z and Aircraft Y came within 500 feet of each other; and separation was lost. I called Kona Tower to verify that Kona Tower did issue the 250 heading to Aircraft Z. The Kona Tower Controller stated he did; and that if Aircraft Z did depart on a 350 heading; it was a pilot deviation. Later; Kona Tower called the supervisor and said that Kona Tower was at fault and issued a 350 heading instead of a 250 heading. This was a hearback/readback error between Kona Tower and the pilot; or maybe just an incorrect clearance by Kona Tower. Kona Tower needs to be operated by the FAA. Kona Approach needs to be opened by the FAA and to work the traffic into Kona. These situations involving Kona Tower are becoming more frequent and more dangerous. Please have Kona Tower become an FAA facility before we have an actual mid air collision.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.