Two airplanes Air India and Indigo They almost collided on the runway. mumbai airport on Saturday, according to the General Directorate of Civil Aviation of India (DGCA). Images of the incident show how a plane Air India It began its takeoff just seconds after another one from IndiGo landed.
The aviation control body in the country has confirmed that An investigation was opened to clarify the causes of the episode. The air traffic controller in charge at the time has been suspended while the investigation is underway, a DGCA official said.
Both Air India and IndiGo stated in separate statements that they had complied with the instructions of the Air Traffic Control (ATC).
A spokesperson for Air India declared to local media that the flight AI657 received clearance from ATC to enter the runway and then take off. According to the spokesperson, the plane Air India followed the established procedures for takeoff.
For his part, a spokesperson for Indigo mentioned that the flight 6E 6053 had received authorization from landing of the ATC at the airport mumbai. The pilot in command continued the approach and landing according to ATC instructions.
The flight of Indigo came from Indore, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, while that of Air India He was heading to Thiruvananthapuram, capital of the state of Kerala.
According to the flight tracking service Flightradar24the two planes were 509m away at their closest point during the incident and were 511 m away when the Air India plane began to take off.
The IndiGo plane landed three seconds later, according to data from Flightradar24.
blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”>
Yesterday in Mumbai, an Air India and IndiGo flight experienced a loss of separation when the Air India flight was cleared to depart and the IndiGo flight cleared to land. Here’s what the ADS-B data tells us about the proximity of the aircraft. https://t.co/ynhwr1pCLw pic.twitter.com/O1ccRpJn39
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) https://twitter.com/flightradar24/status/1799843882173349997?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The two planes involved in the incident were modern Airbus A320neos.
Although both airlines stated that their commanders simply followed the instructions given by the tower controller, experts consulted by the Times of India They highlighted the role played by pilots, controllers and the system that forces them to operate in a limited space in heavy traffic conditions.
In the context of Mumbai airport, which handles approximately 46 takeoffs and landings per hour on its only runwayair traffic controllers can authorize up to two takeoffs and two landings every three minutestime that can be reduced if visibility is optimal.
“The domino was set off by the Air India plane”said the captain and aviation safety expert Amit Singhbased on data collected from Flightradar24.
Given the intense air traffic that operates on the only operational runway at the airport mumbai, the planes land or take off in a tight, choreographed sequence. The series of events that led to the incident occurred within 90 seconds after the takeoff of a Iraqi Airways and the entrance of the plane Air India on the runway for takeoff.
“The Air India plane took a while to take off after receiving alignment clearance, assuming that they had received immediate clearance to take off,” he stated. Singh. “They should have informed ATC, which would have revoked their takeoff clearance.”
According to Publication of Aeronautical Information (AIP) of the Mumbai airport, “when an aircraft receives take-off clearance after lining up on the runway, You must begin takeoff immediately. If the controller observes a delay in the start of takeoff of the aircraft, the takeoff clearance will be canceled and the aircraft will be instructed to leave the runway immediately on the nearest taxiway.”
The plane of Air India had not taken off when the IndiGo plane crossed the beginning of the runway (track threshold with piano clef markings is ahead). The AIP also establishes operational standards for landings.
“Aircraft will not land on an occupied runway even if landing clearance is received,” the AIP says, listing the commander’s responsibility. “The pilot should not hesitate to ask ATC about the (aircraft) traffic on the runway. If the pilots perceive at any time that it is not safe to continue the approach, they must begin the return,” he adds.
According to Captain Singh: “The question is the degree of responsibility of each of them, the controller and the two pilots.and more importantly, the limitations of the runway infrastructure at the airport, which puts controllers and pilots in such situations.”
