In what could spark off yet another India-Pakistan row, the air traffic control (ATC) officials at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport set a Mumbai-bound Air India Dreamliner plane from London on a wrong frequency, nearly causing a mid-air collision.
Shockingly, the Karachi ATC was responding to an SoS from its Mumbai counterparts as well as the Air India flight commander after the aircraft lost contact with the Mumbai ATC.
The 15-minute chaos, during which the plane came in the direct path of a Cebu Airline flight that took off from Dubai, ended only after the Air India pilot managed to contact the Ahmedabad ATC, which guided it to safety.
Top Air India sources, who have been debriefed about the incident, said that the Mumbai ATC officials called up the Karachi airport officials around 1.30 am Tuesday and provided details of the Air India flight AI 130, which had around 180 passengers on board with a crew of 11.
"The flight had taken off from London's Heathrow Airport and its final destination was Ahmedabad. It was already in the Mumbai airspace when we lost contact. As Karachi is a nearby location, we sent an SoS to the Jinnah Airport ATC saying a few basic requirements needed to be conveyed to the pilots urgently," a Mumbai ATC official said.
In the meantime, the flight commander, who was unable to contact the Mumbai ATC even after trying various frequencies, also contacted the Karachi ATC, which put the flight on a different frequency.
"The Karachi ATC did not convey our message to the pilots. It directed the plane to a wrong frequency and gave us incorrect information that the commander will contact Mumbai soon," an aviation source said, adding that the pilot realised something was seriously wrong when he noticed heavy air traffic.
The aviation sources said that while the Mumbai ATC officials were briefing their Pakistani counterparts regarding the problem, they could hear laughter in the background. "This is a very serious incident and the Mumbai ATC has taken up the matter with Karachi officially," the Airports Authority of India chairman, Alok Sinha, said.
The Indian pilots who have had to deal with the Pakistan airport ATCs were not surprised. One of them said that the Karachi airport officials not cooperating with the Indian pilots was "nothing new", even as aviation expert Vipul Saxena said such "irresponsible behaviour was unheard of". He said, "This mischief could have led to one of the biggest disasters of our times. I hope the government will take up this issue with Islamabad."
Shockingly, the Karachi ATC was responding to an SoS from its Mumbai counterparts as well as the Air India flight commander after the aircraft lost contact with the Mumbai ATC.
The 15-minute chaos, during which the plane came in the direct path of a Cebu Airline flight that took off from Dubai, ended only after the Air India pilot managed to contact the Ahmedabad ATC, which guided it to safety.
Top Air India sources, who have been debriefed about the incident, said that the Mumbai ATC officials called up the Karachi airport officials around 1.30 am Tuesday and provided details of the Air India flight AI 130, which had around 180 passengers on board with a crew of 11.
"The flight had taken off from London's Heathrow Airport and its final destination was Ahmedabad. It was already in the Mumbai airspace when we lost contact. As Karachi is a nearby location, we sent an SoS to the Jinnah Airport ATC saying a few basic requirements needed to be conveyed to the pilots urgently," a Mumbai ATC official said.
In the meantime, the flight commander, who was unable to contact the Mumbai ATC even after trying various frequencies, also contacted the Karachi ATC, which put the flight on a different frequency.
"The Karachi ATC did not convey our message to the pilots. It directed the plane to a wrong frequency and gave us incorrect information that the commander will contact Mumbai soon," an aviation source said, adding that the pilot realised something was seriously wrong when he noticed heavy air traffic.
The aviation sources said that while the Mumbai ATC officials were briefing their Pakistani counterparts regarding the problem, they could hear laughter in the background. "This is a very serious incident and the Mumbai ATC has taken up the matter with Karachi officially," the Airports Authority of India chairman, Alok Sinha, said.
The Indian pilots who have had to deal with the Pakistan airport ATCs were not surprised. One of them said that the Karachi airport officials not cooperating with the Indian pilots was "nothing new", even as aviation expert Vipul Saxena said such "irresponsible behaviour was unheard of". He said, "This mischief could have led to one of the biggest disasters of our times. I hope the government will take up this issue with Islamabad."
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