Fortunately, a radar controller noticed the potentially serious error and alerted the pilots in both flight decks. To avoid a collision, one aircraft made a sharp turn to the left and the other to the right. The grim situation was not over as the local authorities allegedly tried to suppress the matter by not reporting it to the DGCA to evade investigation and punishment.
Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar has taken this incident very seriously. An inquiry has been ordered and Kumar told TOI that “stern action will be taken” against those found responsible for it.
The distance between two airstrips in Bengaluru is not parallel and sufficient to allow simultaneous take-off or landing. A fixed time gap has to be maintained between flight movements for operational safety reasons.
“On January 7, 2022, two IndiGo flights – 6E-455 to Kolkata and 6E-246 to Bhubaneswar – were involved in a separation violation at Bengaluru airport. That morning, the northern runway of Bengaluru airport was used for take-off. was to be done for off and south for landing. Later, the Shift Incharge (WSO) decided to conduct single runway operations using the northern runway for both arrival and departure,” said a senior DGCA official.
At this time, the south runway was closed for operations. However, this information was not given to the South Tower Controller. As a result, “the South Tower Controller departed 6E-455, and the North Tower Controller departed 6E-246 without coordination. After departure the two aircraft were headed towards each other. Approach “The radar controller gave a diverging heading and avoided a mid-air collision,” the DGCA official said.
Shockingly, the Airports Authority of India (AAI, which provides air traffic control or ATC services) neither reported the incident nor recorded it in any logbook.
“The two planes were close to each other until they reached about 3,000 feet and the pilots were unaware of the danger. Fortunately, a radar controller on the ground at the Bengaluru airport spotted the flights in time and alerted both the pilots. Kolkata. The departing plane turned to the left and the other to the right to avoid a major accident,” an official of the Bengaluru airport security team said on condition of anonymity.
While Bengaluru ATC officials were not available for comment on the mid-air scare, sources confirmed that lack of coordination on the part of senior Bengaluru ATC officials on duty along the South and North runways had created confusion. Bangalore Airport International Limited (BIAL), which operates the KIA, declined to comment as the matter pertained to ATC. Attempts to reach the General Manager of Air Traffic Management (ATM) at the Bangalore airport also proved unsuccessful.
A query by IndiGo Airlines did not elicit any response till Tuesday evening. But in a query asked by TOI, the carrier had reportedly taken up the matter with the DGCA, following which the aviation regulatory body on Tuesday afternoon ordered a department inquiry into one of the biggest air security lapses at the Bengaluru airport, sources said. to be confirmed.
captain Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation safety expert, termed the Bengaluru air incident as “disturbing”. “Parallel runway takeoff or landing is not allowed in India, including at Bengaluru airport, and if it does, it must be in a startling fashion. It is commendable that the radar controller acted in time. The incident requires investigation. is,” he said.
Watch Bengaluru: Two Indigo planes averted a collision, DGCA ordered an inquiry
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