Air traffic controller suspended after Air India & IndiGo planes nearly collide on Mumbai airport runway

Air India & IndiGo planes nearly collide on Mumbai airport runway

On Saturday (8 June), two planes nearly collided on a runway at Mumbai Airport.

In a video that has since become viral, an IndiGo plane was seen touching down on a runway just as an Air India flight was taking off from it.

Source: @milinddeora on X

An air traffic controller has been suspended following the incident.

IndiGo plane touches down behind Air India plane that was taking off

The clip of the near-collision was posted on X by Indian Member of Parliament Milind Deora on Sunday (9 June).

The IndiGo flight came from Indore from the state of Madhya Pradesh, while the Air India flight was bound for Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, noted The Indian Express.

“The runway is already over-congested, handling over 1,000 flights,” Mr Deora wrote, positing that this makes it accident-prone.

He also called for local aviation authorities to investigate the matter and suspend the officials who had caused the lapse.

According to Channel News Asia (CNA), the two planes were 509m away from each other laterally at their closest point.

The IndiGo jet landed three seconds after the Air India flight lifted off.

Air traffic controller suspended after incident

Times of India reported that an Air Traffic Control (ATC) officer has been taken off the roster by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Moreover, both airlines stated that the respective aircraft had complied with ATC procedures and had been given clearance.

In light of the near-collision, the Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild of India has also come forward with a statement.

It highlighted that the visibility was good during the incident and that there was no air prox situation then.

According to SKYbrary Aviation Safety, air prox occurs when the distance between aircraft, their relative positions and speed are deemed close enough to compromise the aircraft’s safety.

“Had there been a safety risk for landing, the pilot himself would have initiated a Go-Around,” the statement read.

Source: @atcguildindia on X

Investigations are ongoing.

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Featured image adapted from @milinddeora on X.