The presence of mind at the right time and thereby averting a very big disaster by saving lives of 261 flyers, Captain Anupama Kohli deserves a standing ovation.
A mid-air disaster was averted in the Mumbai airspace when a Vistara aircraft came perilously close to an Air India plane, prompting the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to launch a probe.
Captain Kohli saw a Vistara aircraft closing in from her left side towards her. Immediately she climbed to right and steered clear of the Vistara plane.
On February 7, the Vistara’s UK 997 Pune-bound aircraft from Delhi, carrying 152 passengers, was just 100 feet away from the Air India’s AI 631 flight for Bhopal which had 109 passengers on board.
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The AI flight captain has written in her resolution advisory report that the aircraft was just 100 feet away when it was taken to a safer distance. The collision was averted after an automatic warning alerted the pilots of the two planes of being in close proximity to each other, an official said.
The commander of the Air India flight acted swiftly on the instrument warning and steered the aircraft to a safer distance, a senior official of the airline said. The two pilots of the Vistara flight have been grounded, pending investigation, while the Air India pilots have been cleared for flying by the AAIB for not being at fault, the official added.
TCAS is an onboard equipment that advises pilots regarding the traffic in the proximity of the aircraft and also prescribes what action a pilot can take to maintain the desired separation between the aircraft.
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