Kolkata ATC Diverts Flight Mid-Air Seconds Before Possible Collision
Thanks to the alertness and timely intervention by the Kolkata Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, a possible mid-air collision between two IndiGo flights was reportedly averted near the Indo-Bangladesh airspace border on October 3.
According to The Economic Times, the Airports Authority Of Indian (AAI) informed that with just 45 seconds before the possible collision, the ATC instructed one of the flights to turn right and move away from the other aircraft.
Averted a possible collision
A senior AAI official told PTI that both aircraft, belonging to low-cost carrier IndiGo had come to the same level and close to each other at 5:10 pm on Wednesday evening. While one of them was flying to Guwahati from Chennai, the other from Guwahati to Kolkata. While the Kolkata-bound flight was at 36,000 ft in Bangladesh airspace the other one was at 35,000 ft in Indian airspace.
Reportedly, the Bangladesh ATC instructed the Kolkata-bound flight to descend to 35,000 ft and after it followed the order, the aircraft came in close contact with the other flight. An ATC official in Kolkata noticed the situation immediately and directed the other flight to turn right and move away from the path of the descending aircraft.
What IndiGo says
IndiGo spokesperson had then told PTI that they do not have any such information, however, The Logical Indian contacted an IndiGo spokesperson, Sakshi Batra and this is the official version.
“The facts reported in news articles are not correct. We have cross checked the flight data of the aircraft involved (6E-856 and 6E-571), both aircraft had sufficient horizontal and vertical separation within the regulatory requirements. Hence, the automated proximity warning was not even triggered,” read the statement issued by the carrier.
Reportedly, according to norms, the standard separation gap between two aircraft, both lateral and verticle should be a minimum of 1000 ft, said sources. However, in July this year, a similar case involving IndiGo flights too place in the Bengaluru airspace which prompted probe like the recent one too.
However, if the adverse situation did occur, the ATC officials in Kolkata carried out laudable work by alerting the pilots to steer clear of a possible collision which could turn fatal.
Source: The Logical Indian
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