Every ten days, on average, an aircraft misses another by a whisker in the skies over Mumbai airport. Each such incident means a potential collision that could cost hundreds of lives, according to an air traffic control (ATC) source, who declined to be named.
This year there have already been two such near misses — called miss-approaches in air traffic parlance —both involving an arriving plane and a departing one. The ATC source said, “Mumbai is the busiest airport in the country and the possibility of a ground crash is the highest here.†MG Junghare, air traffic manager for Mumbai region, refused to comment on the matter. “Such misses are usually because of delays in departure at peak hours,†the source said.
The average delay at the airport is 30 minutes. With the departing plane delayed and the arriving plane not informed about the presence of an aircraft on the runway, or taxiing very close to it, the safe distance between two aircraft is often breached.
The minimum distance to be maintained between two aircraft on the runway is 100 metres. In contrast, there is no minimum-distance specification when one plane is on the runway and another is on the taxiway, the pathway from the bay to the runway.
The chances of a crash involving a plane on the taxiway and one treading on the runway are high, according to sources. “The pilot may just be overconfident about taxiing and cause a crash,†the ATC source said. “This may happen because of miscommunication between a pilot and an ATC official.â€
According to airport director Sudhir Kumar, the runway in question, called 09-27, is the busiest in India, with a daily average of 560 takeoffs and landings. In fact, the 24 hours of December 28 saw the heaviest aircraft traffic - 588 takeoffs and landings - in the history of Indian aviation on this runway.
DNA India
This year there have already been two such near misses — called miss-approaches in air traffic parlance —both involving an arriving plane and a departing one. The ATC source said, “Mumbai is the busiest airport in the country and the possibility of a ground crash is the highest here.†MG Junghare, air traffic manager for Mumbai region, refused to comment on the matter. “Such misses are usually because of delays in departure at peak hours,†the source said.
The average delay at the airport is 30 minutes. With the departing plane delayed and the arriving plane not informed about the presence of an aircraft on the runway, or taxiing very close to it, the safe distance between two aircraft is often breached.
The minimum distance to be maintained between two aircraft on the runway is 100 metres. In contrast, there is no minimum-distance specification when one plane is on the runway and another is on the taxiway, the pathway from the bay to the runway.
The chances of a crash involving a plane on the taxiway and one treading on the runway are high, according to sources. “The pilot may just be overconfident about taxiing and cause a crash,†the ATC source said. “This may happen because of miscommunication between a pilot and an ATC official.â€
According to airport director Sudhir Kumar, the runway in question, called 09-27, is the busiest in India, with a daily average of 560 takeoffs and landings. In fact, the 24 hours of December 28 saw the heaviest aircraft traffic - 588 takeoffs and landings - in the history of Indian aviation on this runway.
DNA India
