A major mishap was averted at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport on Saturday when a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft came face-to-face with a private carrier plane allegedly due to an air traffic controller (ATC) miscommunication and negligence.
The incident occurred when the Karachi-bound aircraft from Lahore was preparing to land on the runway when it observed a plane taxiing from the opposite direction. With only three-miles distance left between the two, both planes nearly collided.
However, acting promptly, the pilots switched their directions, escaping a potentially fatal collision, and landed safely.
According to the sources, the airtaffic controller immediately directed the private airline's aircraft to land on runway number 7 while the PIA flight was directed to land on runway number 25.
The PIA captain landed the aircraft and directed the oncoming plane for a go-around manoeuvre.
Displaying agility, the captain of the private airline immediately diverted the plane instead of landing.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CIA) has taken notice of the incident and has ordered an investigation.
A response has been also sought from the ATC, sources added.
Both the airplanes were in landing process simultaneously from opposite directions on the runways of the airport, which could have led them to crash into each other. Sources said “The pilots of the planes acted wisely and avoided the imminent collision”.
Note that all airplanes are equipped with a technology called the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) that automatically guides them by communicating with the other plane’s TCAS.
A similar incident occurred on 26 July when two Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) airplanes closely avoided a midair crash while flying on the same air route and altitude over Iranian territory near UAE airspace.
The incident was caused by the purported negligence of the Iranian Air Traffic Controller (ATC) which had cleared the same altitude for both the airplanes, positioning them in close proximity to each other.
One of them, a Boeing 777, was flying from Islamabad to Dubai, while the other, an Airbus A320, was headed from Doha to Peshawar, as per the sources. When they were found to be dangerously close to each other, one was instructed to ascend and the other was told to descend in accordance with the standard practice.
