Major air disaster averted at Mumbai airport

Mumbai, Aug 24: A major air disaster was averted at the Mumbai international airport after two private jets took off from the same runway almost simultaneously on Sunday, Aug 23.

An official of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the incident occurred when the Air Traffic Control (ATC) reportedly cleared the pilots of two chartered aircraft to take off around the same time from runway 27.

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"One of the planes was a chartered aircraft 'Challenger' from Bermuda while the other was a CRJ jet belonging to Pinnacle Air of India," the official said.

Sources at the airport said that the two private jets had similar call signs and ATC gave clearance for one of them but the other mistook the order and took off too.

"It was not immediately known how many passengers were in the two aircraft, both of which had non-scheduled operator permits. The incident happened around 11:30 pm, " the official said.

It was the second time in three months when there was a air-miss at Mumbai airport.

OneIndia News