Probe into near-miss at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: Was it a case of delayed takeoff by an Air India flight that nearly triggered a collision with a Jet Airways plane coming into land at Kolkata on Monday? Or did air traffic controllers make a potentially disastrous error by calling in the Jet flight a trifle early? Or was a strong tail wind responsible for accelerating the landing of the Jet plane? These are among the questions the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the apex body for air operations in the country, is probing following the close call at Kolkata.
Two hundred and twenty nine souls on board two aircraft 75 on an AI flight to Delhi getting ready for takeoff and 154 on a Jet Airways flight from Bangkok lining up for touchdown were headed on a collision course before the Jet captain spotted the plane on the runway and aborted landing, thereby avoiding a major disaster around 10.35am on Monday.
While suspicion initially fell on the AI pilot for delaying the take-off after getting ATC clearance, the cockpit crew has denied wasting any time on the taxiway. They say they guided the plane to the runway for takeoff immediately after receiving the all-clear. An AI spokesperson said the carrier had not erred and was cooperating with the investigation.
An airport official said an internal inquiry was being conducted into the incident and the report would be submitted to DGCA along with transcripts of communication between the air traffic controllers and the captains of the two flights.
04/08/10 Times of India

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Categories: airports aug 2010, Jet Airways Aug 2010, NACIL Aug 2010, Safety Aug 2010