CAA orders probe into near mid-air collision incident

Days after an Air India and a Nepal Airlines planes nearly collided mid-air, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has ordered a probe into the incident, The Himalayan Times reported.

An internal three-member committee has been formed to oversee the investigation, the Information Officer of CAAN, Gyanendra Bhul said, according to the report.

Apart from suspending two ATC officers who were in charge at the time of the incident, the CAAN has instructed the country manager of Air India to ground the pilots involved in the incident until the final report of the investigation is released.

"Our preliminary findings suggest that the Air India aircraft flying to Kathmandu from Delhi was in a holding pattern in the airspace of Simara at an altitude of roughly 19,000 feet. Without prior communication with the ATC, the aircraft abruptly descended towards the NAC aircraft that was flying in from Kuala Lumpur and was at an altitude of 15,000 feet. The two aircraft came dangerously close to colliding, but the traffic collision avoidance system installed in the cockpit of the flight RA- NAC was activated, which helped prevent the mid-air collision," Bhul said.

"It is worth noting that the vertical separation between two aircraft should ideally be 1,000 feet, except in emergency situations. However, the separation between the two aircraft, in this case, was approximately only 300 feet, which prompted the ATC to intervene," he added, The Himalayan Times reported.

The CAAN has decided to ban the Air India pilots in the incidents and has written to DGCA-India, the CAAN announced.

An Air India flight nearly collided with a Nepal Airlines aircraft on Friday and the timely response by the pilots avoided a major tragedy.

The Air India and a Nepal Airlines aircraft came close to collision mid-air but the warning systems alerted the pilots, authorities said in Kathmandu on Sunday, according to a PTI report. While the Nepal Airlines was coming from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu, the Air India plane was coming to Kathmandu from New Delhi.

"Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) of Tribhuvan International Airport involved in traffic conflict incident (between Air India and Nepal Airlines on 24th March 2023) have been removed from active control position until further notice," The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said on Twitter.

The Air India aircraft was descending from 19,000 ft while the Nepal Airlines aircraft was flying at an altitude of 15,000 ft at the same location, CAAN spokesperson Jagannath Niroula said.

After it was shown on the radar that the two aircraft were in proximity, the Nepal Airlines aircraft descended to 7,000 ft, the spokesperson said.

With inputs from PTI