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B737 captain reported that a deplaning passenger expressed concern that during cruise another aircraft had passed closeby; with less than 1;000 ft of separation; although the separation standard had been met during flight and that no TCAS events had occurred.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1720804 |
| Time | |
| Date | 202001 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-800 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Type 16500 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Conflict NMAC Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct |
Narrative:
During deplaning; a passenger approached me and asked about an aircraft that we got very close to. I responded that I was unaware of any abnormally close aircraft during our flight. He responded that we had gotten about 200 ft. Away from what he thought was [another] aircraft. I asked him where he thought this occurred and he said; 'somewhere over ZZZ I think'. I assured him that our minimum separation enroute was 1;000 ft. And that we had no close encounters with any other aircraft. He claimed he knew exactly what 1;000 ft. Looked like and that the aircraft he saw was definitely 200 ft. Away. I asked him if he knew what kind of aircraft it was; hoping to explain that large aircraft appear closer but he said he had no idea what type of aircraft it was; just that he thought it was a (other carrier) aircraft. I again mentioned that we had not come closer to any other aircraft than the standard separation of 1;000 ft. We had no traffic alerts nor any other TCAS has events for the entire flight. The passenger left the jetway after this short conversation.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737 Captain reported that a deplaning passenger expressed concern that during cruise another aircraft had passed closeby; with less than 1;000 ft of separation; although the separation standard had been met during flight and that no TCAS events had occurred.
Narrative: During deplaning; a passenger approached me and asked about an aircraft that we got very close to. I responded that I was unaware of any abnormally close aircraft during our flight. He responded that we had gotten about 200 ft. away from what he thought was [another] aircraft. I asked him where he thought this occurred and he said; 'somewhere over ZZZ I think'. I assured him that our minimum separation enroute was 1;000 ft. and that we had no close encounters with any other aircraft. He claimed he knew exactly what 1;000 ft. looked like and that the aircraft he saw was definitely 200 ft. away. I asked him if he knew what kind of aircraft it was; hoping to explain that large aircraft appear closer but he said he had no idea what type of aircraft it was; just that he thought it was a (other carrier) aircraft. I again mentioned that we had not come closer to any other aircraft than the standard separation of 1;000 ft. We had no traffic alerts nor any other TCAS has events for the entire flight. The passenger left the jetway after this short conversation.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.