INCIDENTS OF NEAR MISS

As per statistics presented in the Lok Sabha in the one year period from March 2015 to March 2016, there were 35 near miss incidents involving aircraft belonging to major airlines and the Indian Air Force (IAF). Records show that the aircraft involved in these 35 incidents belonged to major industry players namely Air India, Jet Airways, IndiGo Airlines, SpiceJet, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Oman Air, GoAir, Saudia, Vistara, Sri Lankan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, all coming close to aircraft of the IAF.

Of the 35 incidents, at least 11 were reported in Delhi airspace, eight in Chennai, seven in Mumbai and four in Varanasi. The statistics handbook of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for 2014-15 recorded 11 ‘serious incidents’ in the previous cycle. When contacted, airline representatives said that their crew was not at fault while aviation experts said these instances occurred mainly due to infrastructure problems. According to the DGCA’s handbook, there were 8.97 lakh scheduled aircraft movements in the year 2014-15, up 6.6 per cent from the previous year. Scheduled aircraft typically refers to regular flights unlike, say charter and private jets and aircraft movement refers to the total number of take-offs and landings.