Collision scare: DGCA probe finds fault with IAF pilots

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry has blamed the Indian Air Force for the near-collision between a presidential chopper and a passenger flight IC-866 -- an Airbus A-321 aircraft -- last month in Mumbai.
A report of the Directorate General Of Civil Aviation (DGCA) says the IAF pilots violated landing rules and the choppers landed without permission from the control tower. Neither the ATC nor the aircraft pilot saw the chopper and so the plane was given the go ahead and when the ATC finally saw the chopper, it was confused whether the President's convoy or a hijack, this led to some moments being lost.
The airport radar could not detect the chopper as the radar faces west to east and the chopper came in from the south. Choppers in low altitudes are almost never detected and considered 'intruders'. No special efforts are made by the ATC to detect low flying objects like choppers. Earlier, the Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major had rejected reports that pilots of the Indian Air Force were responsible for the near miss incident at Mumbai airport.
An Air India jet with 150 onboard nearly collided with VVIP helicopters being used to transport the President and her family.
09/03/09 NDTV.com

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Air India Domestic Mar 2009, Airports Mar 2009, NACIL Mar 2009, Safety Mar 2009