Mid-Air Collision

If a pilot is given direct to a fix, then the controller does not know the heading. For a turn direction, Nielsen would have had to know the heading in order to say "turn left" or "turn right" --something we in the FAA did away with when we added "fly heading XXX" a decade back.
Nor did Neilsen issue a traffic alert...he really acted like he didn't want to face up to how close this one was. Very odd behavior.

You don't have to be a badass to be a controller..but you DO have to make instant decisions. Peter's "uh" when he issued his descent to the Russkie was a sign that he was taken by surprise. _I_ would have let AirLloyd fly a little further while I made sure these planes didn't hit. That isn't being a badass. That is keeping your priorities straight!

Sometimes, "big sky" doesn't work. On March 15th, 1994, a two seater F-16 was entering the pattern at Pope AFB, with a C-130 directly ahead of him. Fayetteville Approach failed to coordianate the inbound to Pope tower, and the trainee contoller on local froze when the F-16 checked in suddenly, messing up his traffic picture. Five seconds later, the F-16 impacted the C-130, a glancing blow that would not have brought down either plane...except for the "expert" Navy C-130 pilot at the runway....

oh F**k yeah. the expert is talking.
maybe if you were in the same situation you would have acted like a badass right?
Peter did make a mistake but also the fact that he had to control two monitors influenced this.

Here's what happened: A military C-130, also at FL 240, lost its transponder about 20 miles back, and the center controller did not notice. Now, centers in the US can track primary targets, but the controller has to throw a switch. The C-130 flew into an adjacent sector without a handoff, so the controller there was totally unaware of it. My dad's plane and the C-130 missed by 30 feet. One or the others' aircraft was off by a point or two. Big sky theory works!