Miraculous save as planes almost kiss over Delhi

New Delhi: Three-hundred passengers had a miraculous escape last week when their planes came within 500 feet of each other over the airport in New Delhi.
With air traffic control (ATC) oblivious, the only thing that came between the planeloads of people and death was a warning device in the two aircraft.
A Hyderabad-bound Air India flight with 145 people on board took off from Indira Gandhi International Airport at 10 a.m. on April 6. Minutes later, it came as close as 500 feet to a Kingfisher flight descending to Delhi.
Luckily, the Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System, a device that receives signals from the transponders of other aircraft in its airspace and sends this to the pilot, helped avoid a collision in the nick of time.
"The aircraft came closer by normal standards while crossing each other. It seems like the mistake of the ATC official and the person has been de-rostered (suspended)," said an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesman. The AAI manages all civil air traffic in India.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the case.
"We will know the exact reason for the air proximity when investigations are over," the AAI spokesman said.
15/04/10 Sidhartha Roy/Hindustan Times

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Categories: Air India Domestic Apr 2010, Airports Apr 2010, Kingfisher Apr 2010, NACIL Apr 2010, Safety Apr 2010