CHENNAI: A disaster was narrowly averted on the runway at the Chennai Airport on Saturday morning, as an aircraft was just about to land, when it was noticed that another flight, slated to take off, was stationary on the taxi track.
As the Jet Airways flight to New Delhi (9W 2329), scheduled to depart at 8.30 am on Saturday was delayed by a preceding flight, it had initially begun to taxi out on to the runway, 10 minutes late. At the same time, an Air India flight, also from New Delhi, (AI 439), was on its final approach and had been cleared to land, when Air Traffic Control (ATC) officials noticed the former aircraft, still on the runway. Had this not been noticed and had the Air India flight landed, there could have been a major accident. There were 318 passengers on board both the planes.
Airport officials said a minor delay in the take-off of the flight before the Jet Airways flight, had disrupted the time synchronisation on the runway leading to the near-collision. Sources however said that it was the Air India flight’s pilot who noticed the stationary plane and conveyed it to ATC officials. “He felt that he could not land at that point and asked for permission to hover in the airspace over the airport,” said the source. The Jet Airways aircraft was immediately towed away and after 10 minutes of waiting for clearance, the AI plane landed safely, much to the relief of the crew members.
A complete probe has been ordered into the incident.