Vistara pilots prevented a serious accident at Delhi airport on Wednesday morning. A Vistara Airlines plane was allowed to start flying even though another plane was in the middle of the landing. The plane that was taking off had to stop because the Air Traffic Control (ATC) told them to.
The flight UK725, going from Delhi to Bagdogra, was trying to take off from a recently opened runway. At the same time, a Vistara Airlines flight going from Delhi to Bagdogra was allowed to start taking off from the same runway. A potential collision was only prevented because of Captain Sonu Gill, who was flying the plane from Ahmedabad to Delhi.
The two planes were about 1.8 kilometers (1,800 meters) away from each other. Sources mentioned that if Captain Sonu Gill hadn’t alerted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) about the other plane, the situation could have been very dangerous.
“Both were given permission at the same time but ATC took control immediately. The ATC (Air Traffic Control) officer on duty asked Vistara flight to abort take-off,” an official mentioned.
The flight from Delhi to Bagdogra had to come back to its parking spot right after it started taking off because the take-off was cancelled. The aeroplane was filled with more fuel to make sure it could return to Delhi if the weather was bad in Bagdogra. They also checked the brakes on the plane.
Airport officials said that if they hadn’t stopped the plane from taking off, a big accident could have occurred. There are rules (called Standard Operating Procedures) that say no planes or vehicles should move when a plane is taking off or landing. Vistara pilots were familiar with the rules.
People on the plane got a little worried when the Vistara pilots announced that the flight wouldn’t be taking off because of directions from the Air Traffic Control (ATC).
According to Captain Amit Singh, a senior pilot and the founder of Safety Matters Foundation, when planes are using runways that are very close together, it’s important to watch them closely and follow the rules carefully to avoid the risk of two planes getting too close to each other in the sky. Normally, a plane on one runway isn’t allowed to start taking off until a plane on the other runway has already landed.
But if there’s a mistake and a plane on one runway is allowed to take off while a plane on the second runway is trying to land but decides to go back up into the air instead, there’s a chance that their flight paths could cross because the runways are so close together.