Two planes carrying more than 260 people nearly collided in the air
Two Indian planes were flying in opposite directions, only 30 meters apart, but the female captain managed to prevent a disaster that could have killed 261 people.
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Air India female captain Anupama Kohli. Photo:Air India. |
Passengers on two Indian flights may have experienced the scariest and luckiest moment of their lives on February 7, when a Vistara Airbus A320neo flew dangerously close to an Air India A319, according to...RT.
The Vistara flight took off from Delhi to Pune with 152 people on board, while the Air India plane carried 109 people from Mumbai to Bhopal.
Mid-flight, the Vistara pilot went to the toilet, leaving the female co-pilot in the cockpit. In compliance with international aviation regulations, which require two crew members to be present in the cockpit, a flight attendant entered, according toTimes of India. In the cockpit of the Air India plane is female captain Anupama Kohli.
Over Mumbai, air traffic control instructed the Vistara pilot to continue descending from 28,000 feet to 26,000 feet, but that would put him just 100 feet above the Air India plane. At this point, the planes were “just seconds apart,” an aviation source said.
The planes were so close together that Captain Kohli could see the Vistara approaching from the left, directly in front of her, and heard the air traffic controller ask the pilots why it was flying at this altitude. The Vistara pilot replied: "No, you told me to come down to this level!"
Moments before a mid-air collision, the air traffic collision avoidance system blared in the Air India cockpit: "Climb, climb, climb!" Captain Kohli reacted quickly, climbing and turning right to avoid the Vistara A320.
Air India later said there was some misunderstanding between the Vistara pilot and the air traffic control tower, as the Vistara plane continued to descend while the air traffic control gave different instructions.
Two Vistara pilots have been suspended pending investigation, while the Air India pilots are allowed to continue flying as they have not committed any wrongdoing. Vistara confirmed the incident.
A Vistara spokesman said both pilots "followed standard operating procedures in such incidents to avoid it and landed the aircraft without any problems". The airline added that the safety of passengers and crew was its "top priority".
In late January, an IndiGo A320 and an Emirates Boeing 777 also faced a dangerous situation over the city of Nagpur. The crews of both planes followed the automated system’s instructions and increased the distance between the planes.
