Midair collision averted after two planes come within 100ft of each other

MUMBAI: A mid-air disaster was averted in the Mumbai air space when a Vistara aircraft came perilously close to an Air India plane, prompting the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to launch a probe.

On February 7, the Vistara’s Pune-bound aircraft from Delhi, carrying 152 passengers, was just 100 feet away from the Air India’s flight for Bhopal which had 109 passengers on board.

The AI flight captain has written in her resolution advisory report that the aircraft was just 100 feet away when it was taken to a safer distance.

The collision was averted after an automatic warning alerted the pilots of the two planes of being in close proximity to each other, an official said.

The commander of the Air India flight acted swiftly on the instrument warning and steered the aircraft to a safer distance, a senior official of the airline said.

The two pilots of the Vistara flight have been grounded, pending investigation, while the Air India pilots have been cleared for flying by the AAIB for not being at fault, the official added.

Confirming the incident, a Vistara spokesperson said: “In this particular incident, the resolution advisory (by the Traffic Collision Avoidance System or TCAS) got triggered due to conflicting traffic. Our pilot followed the standard operating procedure to avoid it and carried out an uneventful landing. The matter is under investigation by the relevant authority”.