NEW DELHI: Two Qatar Airways aircraft with about 500 passengers on board came dangerously close to each other while flying over Chennai airspace, triggering the automated collision avoidance system that helped pull the planes away to safety.
The near miss, or aircraft proximity incident, on February 17 involved a #Boeing 777 flying from #Doha to Bali and an #Airbus 330 operating from #Bangkok to the #Qatar capital.
A pilot of the Boeing 777, operating as QTR 956, sought the Chennai air traffic control’s permission to climb to 39,000 feet from 37,000 feet and got the go-ahead.
As the plane started climbing, it came as close as 300 feet from QTR 825, the Airbus 330 that was flying on the opposite direction at 38,000 feet. This triggered the traffic collision avoidance system on both aircraft, which sent a resolution advisory, where computers take over controls of the aircraft and by asking one aircraft to climb and the other to descent to ensure that they do not hit each other.
As the plane started climbing, it came as close as 300 feet from QTR 825, the Airbus 330 that was flying on the opposite direction at 38,000 feet. This triggered the traffic collision avoidance system on both aircraft, which sent a resolution advisory, where computers take over controls of the aircraft and by asking one aircraft to climb and the other to descent to ensure that they do not hit each other.
#QatarAirways didn’t respond until press time Wednesday to an email seeking comment.
There could be a lot of scenarios behind the incident and only an inquiry could bring out the facts, an aviation expert said.
(Representative Image) Image credit: By Eluveitie - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15798437
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