"ATC’s obsolete equipment also to blame for near miss”

Mumbai: Two Air India pilots have been suspended following an enquiry into Sunday’s near-collision between an AI aircraft and a Jet Airways plane at the airport here.
However, the Air Traffic Control’s (ATC) obsolete equipment is as much to blame as are the AI pilots, an AI source claimed on Tuesday.
When an ATC official gave the Jet pilot clearance for take-off, the AI pilot too responded. Multiple pilots responding to the same command was not unusual, the source said on condition of anonymity. The official, however, did not hear the AI pilot’s response because of faulty equipment.
As a result, both planes readied for take-off on cross-runways (runways that intersect in an ‘X’ formation) at the same time when only the Jet pilot had the clearance.
The ATC operates with only 214 air traffic controllers, against the projected requirement of 325. Four years ago, the ATC strength was 180. At that time, the Mumbai airport handled a traffic of 22.2 million passengers, according to figures given by Manish Kalghatgi, Public Relations Officer for the Mumbai International Airport Limited.
03/06/09 The Hindu

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Categories: Airports Jun 2009, Jet Airways Jun 2009, NACIL Jun 2009, Safety Jun 2009