Mumbai: A mid-air disaster was averted in the Mumbai air space when a Vistara aircraft came perilously close to an Air India plane, prompting the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to launch a probe.
On February 7, the Vistara’s UK 997 Pune-bound aircraft from Delhi, carrying 152 passengers, was just 100 feet away from the Air India’s AI 631 flight for Bhopal which had 109 passengers on board.
The AI flight captain has written in her resolution advisory report that the aircraft was just 100 feet away when it was taken to a safer distance.
The collision was averted after an automatic warning alerted the pilots of the two planes, an official said. The commander of the Air India flight acted swiftly and steered the aircraft to a safer distance, a senior official of the airline said.
The two pilots of the Vistara flight have been grounded, pending probe.