Mid-air collision of flights averted over Bengaluru skies

New Delhi/Bengaluru: People onboard two IndiGo flights had a miraculous escape when the aircraft were cleared to take off simultaneously in the same direction from the Kempegowda International Airport's parallel runways on January 7.

Luckily, a radar controller spotted the potentially grave error and alerted pilots in both flight decks. One plane swerved sharply to the left and the other to right to avoid a collision. The serious situation did not end then as local authorities allegedly tried to hush it up by not reporting it to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), possibly to avoid a probe, and punishment. DGCA chief Arun Kumar has taken a very serious note of this incident and ordered a thorough probe into incident stating that "strict action will be taken against" those found responsible for it.

The distance between the two airstrips at Bengaluru is not sufficient enough to allow parallel and simultaneous take-offs or landings. A certain time difference 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 breach of separation at Bengaluru airport.

That morning, Bengaluru airport's north runway was meant to be used for take-offs and south for landings. Later, the shift in-charge (WSO) decided to have single runway operations by using the north runway for both arrivals and departures," said a senior DGCA official. Indigo Airlines declined to comment on the incident.

A prima facie report stated that "the incident occurred due to a lack of communication between radar controllers and ATC officers at the time of the incident," according to investigators. The report suggested that the two planes took off for their designated destinations and had an instant face-off in mid-air at an altitude of over 3,000 feet in the skies over Bengaluru.

Over 400 lives were at risk

New Delhi: A mid-air collision between two IndiGo flights was averted after a radar controller saw the impending danger and took corrective actions. The Bengaluru-Kolkata flight carried 176 passengers and six crew, while the Bengaluru-Bhubaneswar flight carried 238 passengers and six crew - a total of 426 passengers had a miraculous escape.

Both jets should not have been allowed to take off simultaneously in the same direction, DGCA sources have said. "As both aircraft after departure were on converging heading, ie, moving towards each other, an approach radar controller gave diverging heading and avoided a mid-air collision thus saving hundreds of lives," the report said.