Timely action by Vistara pilot prevents major flight accident, saves lives of 322 passengers

New Delhi: In a recent incident, a potential disaster was narrowly avoided at the Delhi airport on Wednesday after a plane of Vistara airlines was allowed to take off while another plane was in the process of landing.

The ATC (Air Traffic Control) intervened and instructed the flight to halt its take off.

The incident involved Flight UK725 en route to Bagdogra from Delhi’s newly inaugurated runway. At the same time, a Vistara flight from Ahmedabad to Delhi was landing on a parallel runway, heading towards the same runway.

Reportedly, captain Sonu Gill of the Ahmedabad-Delhi flight spotted the impending danger when the flights were a mere 1.8 kilometers apart. Promptly, she alerted the ATC officers about it who in turn aborted the second flight’s take-off. The Vistara flight accident could have put the lives of over 320 people in danger.

The Delhi-Bagdogra flight returned to the parking space after the take-off was aborted. As precautionary measures, the flight was re-fulled to ensure a smooth return to Delhi in case of adverse weather conditions.

In a statement, the airport officials said that if the take-off had not been stopped in time, it a dangerous accident of the Vistara flights would have occurred. The SOP strictly prohibits any aircraft or vehicle movement at the time of take-off and landing.

Passengers on-board the Bagdogra-Delhi bound flight were informed by the pilot about the situation and ATC’s intervention, causing apprehension.

Captain Amit Singh, senior pilot and founder of Safety Matters Foundation, said about the importance of monitoring and adhering to procedures when runways are closely spaced. He explained that situations like this one could cause the flight paths to conflict due to the close proximity of the runways.