On Sunday two aircrafts came close to each other in a dangerous position in Goa airspace, triggering the planes’ traffic collision avoidance alarm system to go off and forcing their pilots to take necessary action to maintain a safe distance between them.
This horrifying near miss incident involved a SpiceJet’s Hyderabad-bound plane from Goa and a GoAir aircraft operating on Nagpur-Mumbai route.
According to a PTI report sources have said that the civil aviation regulator–Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has already ordered a probe.
The report also said that both SpiceJet and GoAir officials confirmed the incident but said it was being investigated by the DGCA.
SpiceJet’s Bombardier Q400 plane, operating flight SG-3604 from Goa to Hyderabad while in the climb in Goa airspace, experienced a Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) warning when it breached the minimum required vertical separation distance with GoAir flight (G8-141), said the sources. The crew took evasive action as directed and reported to Goa air traffic control, the report said.
TCAS is an onboard system that alerts pilots about the proximity of an aircraft and also instructs them about the avoidance action (Resolution Advisory) to take necessary action to maintain desired separation between two aircraft. In the Indian airspace, two planes can fly at minimum permitted vertical separation of 1,000 feet, and a breach in this separation prompts the TCAS to go off.
From Agencies, Feature image courtesy: Mathrubhumi
