Air India, IndiGo planes involved in near miss at Mumbai airport; air traffic controller suspended
10 June, 2024
An air traffic controller has been suspended and an investigation is underway after two planes narrowly avoided a collision on a runway at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Indian media reported on Sunday (Jun 9).
Air India, IndiGo planes narrowly avoid collision at Mumbai airport. ATC suspended, investigation underway. Both airlines comply with ATC instructions.
In the incident on Saturday, an IndiGo flight landed on the runway as an Air India flight was taking off from it.
Footage of the incident circulating on social media shows how close the two jets came to each other, with the Air India aircraft lifting off just seconds before the IndiGo plane touches down.
According to flight tracking service Flightradar24, the two planes were 509m away from each other laterally at their closest point during the incident and were 511m apart when the Air India plane began to lift off. The IndiGo jet touched down three seconds after this, Flightradar24 data showed. The Indigo flight, 6E5053, arrived from Indore in the state of Madhya Pradesh, while the Air India flight, AI657, was bound for Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala.
Both planes involved in the incident were Airbus A320neos.
According to the Deccan Herald, India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation has "derostered" the air traffic controller involved in the incident.
The aviation regulator has also launched a probe into the incident, the daily reported.
In statements, both IndiGo and Air India said that they had complied with instructions given by air traffic control.
In its statement, IndiGo said its aircraft had been "given landing clearance" by air traffic control.
"The pilot in command continued the approach and landing and followed (air traffic control) instructions," Indian media reported the airline as saying.
"At IndiGo, passenger safety is paramount to us, and we have reported the incident as per procedure."
Air India meanwhile said its plane had been "cleared by air traffic control to enter the runway and subsequently cleared for take-off".
"The Air India aircraft continued with the take-off roll in accordance with laid down procedures," the airline was reported as saying.
"An investigation has been initiated by the authorities to find out more about the clearance given to the airlines."
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com