The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday suspended the Air Traffic Control officer's license for a period of three months, who was involved in 'a breach of separation' at Bengaluru airport.
Two IndiGo flights miraculously avoided a collision after being cleared to take off simultaneously in the same direction on January 7, 2022, after which the DGCA had ordered an inquiry into the incident.
A senior DGCA official informed that the two IndiGo flights 6E 455 (Bengaluru to Kolkata) and 6E 246 (Bengaluru to Bhubaneswar) took off simultaneously from north and south Runway and were involved in a breach of separation at Bengaluru airport.
"South tower controller gave departure to 6E 455 in coordination with Approach Radar controller and at the same time, North tower controller gave departure to 6E 246 without prior coordination with south tower controller and Approach Radar controller. As both aircraft after departure were on converging heading i.e. moving towards each other," read the statement released by DGCA.
It further reads that the approach radar controller gave diverging heading to separate these aircraft. At the closest point of conflict, the vertical and lateral separation between both aircraft was 100 feet (Standard 1000ft) and 0.9 NM (Standard 3NM).
The occurrence has been classified as a serious incident and is being investigated by Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB).
It further reads that based on the outcome of the regulatory assessment, enforcement actions have been taken by DGCA that including a warning letter to the tower supervisor for not monitoring the activities of ATC Tower and non-reporting of the incident, ATCO license of North tower controller who was also the WSO of the shift was suspended for a period of three months.
ATCO has failed to comply with coordination procedures during the change of runway operations from segregated mode to a single mode of operations, violations of AIP India for aircraft operation, DGCA approval for Runway operations, procedures of MATS II for Runway operation and non-reporting of incident, the statement added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
IndiGo Pilot Surprises Wife With Heartwarming Announcement Mid-Flight, Internet Loves It Nagpur-Kolkata IndiGo Flight Lands In Raipur After Hoax Bomb Threat ''Unforgettable Legacy'': IndiGo Bids Farewell To Vistara As It Takes Its Last Flight "Thousand Times Better...": Delhi Lt Governor's Surprise For AAP's Atishi "World War 3 Has Begun": Ukraine Ex-Military Commander Amid Russia Conflict "Violation Of Sovereignty, Abuse Of Power": Kanwal Sibal On US Report On Adani Group Bastar Will Be Maoist-Free Very Soon, Says Chhattisgarh Minister Arun Sao Petrol Pump Owner, Son Shot At Over Bill In UP's Kaushambi: Police Indian Researchers Find Method To Decode Monkeypox Virus, Aid Diagnostics Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.