Alert pilot saves Jet Airways’ Mumbai-Rajkot flight from ramming into IAF’s Sukhoi; only 500 ft separated the two.
BANGALORE: A Jet Airways flight 9W 345, bound for Rajkot from Mumbai, narrowly escaped a fiery disaster on Thursday when its captain, with only seconds to spare, propelled the Boeing 737-700 out of a collision course with an Indian Air Force Sukhoi 30MKI fighter.
The passenger aircraft, having descended to 25,000 feet for landing, was just 500 feet away from the air force plane when the Jet pilot effected a sudden, life-saving ascent to 26,000 feet. The minimum distance that must be maintained between two aircraft being tracked on radar is 10 miles. The minimum vertical distance required is 1000 feet.
The pilot performed the emergency manoeuvre in response to a warning flashed by the Traffic Collision Avoidance System installed in the aircraft.
Although the 89 passengers on board were unhurt, reports from Rajkot said the sudden, powerful thrust needed for the abrupt climb may have damaged the engine.
Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer confirmed news of the near collision and said the Boeing has been grounded at Rajkot for checks.
The incident occurred at 8:30am during the IAF’s ‘Gagan Shakti’ exercise and involved a Sukhoi 30MKI formation.
Aviation sources were puzzled by the incident as the Jet plane was flying in a scheduled slot and its flight path should have been known to the IAF.
An IAF spokesman played down the incident. “We call it a proximity incident as our controlling officer on ground has witnessed it,” he said. “We are conducting an inquiry.” The directorate general of civil aviation is conducting a separate investigation.
“Prima facie reports suggest that the fighter aircraft did not pose any threat to the civil airliner as they were under the control of ground-based radar and in visual contact,” the IAF spokesman said.
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