Bengaluru: It was a narrow escape for passengers of two IndiGo flights, which came within 200 feet of each other over the city’s air space on July 10, but avoided collision thanks to onboard alarm systems that alerted their pilots.
An IndiGo aircraft, flying from Coimbatore to Hyderabad and another flying from Bengaluru to Kochi, were just 200 feet away from each other when the pilots were alerted by on-board systems and took corrective measures.
According to an airline official, the Kochi bound plane had around 160 passengers and the other had 162. The Air Traffic Control (ATC) had asked one aircraft to climb to 36,000 feet and the other to 28,000 feet. They came close to each other vertically as both were arriving at 27,500 feet.
In a statement, IndiGo airline said the two aircraft were four miles apart and had a vertical separation of 200 feet when an alarm was triggered at the Traffic Collision Avoidance System — Resolution Advisory system. The incident has been reported to the aviation regulator, the DGCA and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board .
Meanwhile, Bangalore International Airport Limited said that an incident involving two A320 aircraft operated by Indigo occurred on July 10 some distance away from the KIA. Pilots on board were alerted to the presence of the other by on-board systems and subsequently reported the incident to the DGCA, it added.
