September 22, 2006 05:08am Article from: Agence France-PresseFont size: + - Send this article: Print Email TWO major air accidents were averted overnight as Indian passenger planes narrowly missed colliding with others in separate incidents.
In the first incident, a plane operated by India's private carrier Jet Airways with 89 passengers on board had a near collision early overnight with a fighter jet, aviation and Jet officials said.
In another incident overnight, an Indian airlines plane with about 150 passengers on board, missed colliding with another plane on a runway at the New Delhi airport, according to the Press Trust of India.
A spokesman for Jet Airways said the Jet flight averted a collision only at the last minute when it missed an Indian air force Sukhoi fighter aircraft by only 151 metres.
The flight, from Mumbai to the western city of Rajkot, was alerted by an on board system that it was too close during its descent and took evasive action at 23,000 feet, the spokesman said.
The traffic collision avoidance system alerted the captain to change course to avoid the fighter jet, which was part of an ongoing military operation near Rajkot, the Jet Airways spokesman in Mumbai said.
"The pilot gave a high pressure thrust to the engine in a sudden climb to avoid any untoward incident."
All 89 passengers were safe, the spokesman said, adding that an investigation would be carried out. The Boeing 737-700 aircraft was grounded at Rajkot following the incident.
An Indian Airforce spokesman in New Delhi said that the Sukhoi fighter jet "did not pose any threat to the civilian aircraft as the airforce pilots were fully aware of the situation."
The fighter pilots "could see the civilian aircraft and were aware of its position through radar," Squadron leader Mahesh Upasani said.
"But we have ordered an enquiry into the incident along with the directorate general of civil aviation," he added.
***
Meanwhile at New Delhi airport, the Indian flight coming in from Mumbai was about to land after receiving clearance from the air traffic control when the pilot noticed another aircraft on the runway, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
The pilot made a sharp climb that "shocked" many passengers, the news agency quoted an unidentified senior government official who was on board as saying.
The official said the pilot's quick reflexes saved the lives of about 150 passengers in the Airbus A320. The plane landed after circling over the airport for about 20 minutes
"About 12 hours later, the Indian flight IC-168 from Mumbai was set to land in Delhi’s Indira Gandhi airport at about eight pm when its pilot suddenly saw another aeroplane on the runway assigned to it. After announcing that another aircraft was on the runway, the pilot made a sharp climb that ‘‘shocked’’ passengers, a senior government official who was on the flight told PTI.
The pilot explained to the passengers that another aircraft was on the runway and what action the crew planned to take. The official, however, complimented the pilot’s quick reflexes which she felt had saved the lives of about 150 passengers in the ‘‘packed flight’’. The Airbus A320 landed after hovering over the airport for about 20 minutes. An Indian spokesman, however, said the flight IC-168 was ‘‘normal’’. ‘‘It was a normal flight. The aircraft later took off for Kolkata,’’ the spokesman said, but an inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
The official, however, complimented the pilot’s quick reflexes which she felt had saved the lives of about 150 passengers in the ‘‘packed flight’’. The Airbus A320 landed after hovering over the airport for about 20 minutes.
150 passengers on an IC A320 ? Did she have a few drinks onboard?
With TCAS available there should not be a worry.However only Investigation can tell if there was a Violation. BTW Whose source was the 150 meters qouted from.
Nice to see the media hype behind a simple safety procedure. Interesting!
Capt. Airbus,
To those of us in the know, it looks silly to report this, but to the new breed --- the citizen journalist --- it's a chance of air his/her expert opinion.
With TCAS available there should not be a worry.However only Investigation can tell if there was a Violation. BTW Whose source was the 150 meters qouted from.
regds
MEL
Mel,
You'd be surprised to know that none of the four English channels, NDTV, CNN, HEADLINES and Times, even bothered to mention this. NDTV was the worst with its aviation expert correspondent Sandeep Pukhan, being so "un-"technical.
Still can;t get over his calling Alliance Air as Air Alliance Limited, several times, and then mentioning an Airbus 737, in one of his reports recently.
I think the News channels should Interview Professionals to talk on Aviation.Also the Correspondents talking Aviation should have some Knowledge on the Field too.Its at times Amusing to read & listen to the News on Indian Civil Aviation especially the Headlines
Although there are quite a few Journos that know their job in the print media.But on Tv unfortunately no one so far.
The classic is still the one covering the Sahara crash in DEL didn't know what a touch-and-go was, so very blightedly says "Taking off while landing, a procedure very common in airlines".
I guess the forum could be a starting point for these wannabe journos.
During the 24x7 NDTV coverage of the Kandahar hijack, one of the newscasters, and now high up in the NDTV hierarchy, asked the reporter. "And why should the plane be refuelled?"