Indigo planes avert mid-air collision over Bangla border

KOLKATA: Two Indigo planes came too close for comfort before averting a mid-air collision at the border airspace of India and Bangladesh, Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said Thursday.

With only 45 seconds before the possible collision, it was averted after the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower in Kolkata instructed one plane to turn right and move away from the other aircraft that had come at the same level on Wednesday.

“Both the aircraft, belonging to Indigo, had come on the same level Wednesday evening and posed a threat to both the planes,” a senior AAI official at the Kolkata airport told PTI over phone.

“One aircraft was going to Guwahati from Chennai and the other from Guwahati to Kolkata. The planes had come close to each other around 5.10 pm,” he said.

The Kolkata-bound flight was at 36,000 ft in Bangladesh airspace and the other one at 35,000 ft in Indian airspace.

The Bangladesh ATC had asked the Kolkata-bound flight to descend to 35,000 ft and when the aircraft followed the order, it came close to the aircraft which was at 35,000 ft, the official said.

An ATC official in Kolkata saw it and immediately ordered the Chennai-guwahati flight to make a right turn and move away from the path of the descending aircraft, averting a disaster, he said.

“We have no such information as of now,” an Indigo spokesperson told PTI when contacted.

As per standard procedure, an investigation will be initiated, another AAI official said.

The standard separation gap between two aircraft should be a minimum of 1000 ft, said sources at the airport. KOLKATA: Over 100 passengers on a Doha-bound Qatar Airways aircraft had a scare at the international airport in Kolkata early on Thursday when a w ater tanker hit the plane minutes before take off. The accident took place at about 2:20 am when passengers were boarding the plane at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.

“The passengers were safely evacuated. We have informed the Director General of Civil Aviation,” airport director Atul Dixit told HT. Officials said the civil aviation regulator had started a probe. The aircraft, which had to carry 103 passengers, did not take off. An IANS report said the aircraft suffered damage and its 101 passengers and 12 crew members were safely evacuated.