Mumbai news: Narrow escape for passengers as two planes land, take off together; DGCA de-rosters ATC staff

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that on June 8, Mumbai airport had an incident in which an Air India aircraft took off mere minutes ahead of an IndiGo plane, which landed on the same runway.

The DGCA, in a statement, said that the Air Traffic Control (ATC) staff involved has been derostered. It confirmed that an inbound IndiGo flight landed on Runway 27 while an Air India flight was still in the process of taking off. The DGCA has also ordered a probe into the matter to understand the circumstances that led to the breach of safety protocols.

A video of the incident has been making the rounds on social media.

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Details of the Incident

Early on June 8 (Saturday), IndiGo flight 6053, arriving from Indore's Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport (IDR), landed on runway 27, while Air India flight 657 was still in the process of taking off for Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (TRV), according to an ANI report.

The close timing of the landing and takeoff created a “potentially dangerous situation”, it added.

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Investigation Ongoing

An investigation has been launched to understand what led to the protocol breach and to implement measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

“Mumbai and Delhi airports are high-intensity airports, operating around 46 flights per hour. ATCOs are responsible for maintaining the safe and secure arrival and departure of planes and passengers. In the viral video, the visibility appears to be quite good. If there is reasonable assurance through visual observation, the traffic separation minima can be reduced. In this incident, it appeared that the departing aircraft had already reached B2 speed and was nose-up while the arriving aircraft was touching down on Runway 27. The matter is under investigation,” Alok Yadav, General Secretary of the ATC Guild India, told ANI.

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IndiGo, in a statement after the incident, said, “On June 8, IndiGo flight 6E 6053 from Indore was given landing clearance by ATC at Mumbai Airport. The Pilot in Command continued the approach and landing and followed ATC instructions. At IndiGo, passenger safety is paramount to us, and we have reported the incident as per procedure.”

Air India, in its statement, said, “AI657 from Mumbai to Trivandrum was on take-off roll on June 8. The Air India aircraft was cleared by Air Traffic Control to enter the runway and subsequently cleared for take-off. The Air India aircraft continued with the take-off roll in accordance with laid down procedures. An investigation has been initiated by the authorities to find out more about the clearance given to the airlines.”

(With inputs from ANI)