Incident took place in Pakistan airspace
Two aircraft carrying around 600 passengers escaped a mid-air collision today (Wednesday) while flying over Pakistan airspace.
The disaster was averted after aircraft collision avoidance system activated automatically and also thanks to the presence of mind of the air traffic controller, Pakistan’s Geo television reported.
One passenger aircraft was flying from Beijing to Doha and the other London-bound flight from Mumbai to London when they had come close enough over the Pakistani province of Balochistan airspace, the TV said quoting air traffic controlling authority in the country.
Both the aircraft were flying at 35,000-feet altitude. The report didn’t disclose the airlines but said they’re foreign carriers.
The midair collision was averted due to sophisticated equipment fitted in the two aircraft and guidance by the air traffic controller.
It is said that the air traffic controller has been facing difficulties due to malfunctioning of a radar which could not properly locate airplanes flying through Pakistan.
This is the second incident that the disaster has been averted in less than four months.
The earlier incident, reported on December 14, 2012, involved two aircraft which had taken off from the UAE. One flight was flying from Abu Dhabi to Lahore while the other flight was on its way from Dubai to Lahore.
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source: E 24/7