Air India & Nepal Airlines Aircraft Almost Collided Mid-Air; 2 Air Traffic Controllers Suspended

Authorities said Sunday that a major tragedy was averted on Friday when an Air India and a Nepal Airlines aircraft came very close to colliding in mid-air but the warning systems alerted the pilots whose prompt action prevented the disaster.

According to CAAN spokesperson Jagannath Niroula, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended two employees from the air traffic controller department for carelessness.

On Friday morning, a Nepal Airlines plane flying from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and an Air India plane flying from New Delhi nearly collided.

CAAN spokesperson said, “The Air India plane was descending from 19,000 feet, while the Nepal Airlines plane was flying at 15,000 feet in the same spot”.

“The Nepal Airlines plane fell to 7,000 feet when the vicinity of the two aircraft was detected on the radar”, the official added.

A three-person committee has been constituted by the Civil Aviation Authority to look into the situation.

As per the report, the two officers in charge of the control room at the time of the incident have been suspended by the CAAN.

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