Major accident averted! Earlier this month, Air India flight & Nepal Airline plane come dangerously close mid-air; 3 officers suspended

The aviation ministry in Nepal has removed the Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) of the Tribhuvan International Airport involved in a traffic conflict incident involving an Air India aircraft earlier this month.

An Air India aircraft and a Nepal Airlines plane avoided a mid-air collision on March 24 thanks to the warning systems which alerted the pilots when they came dangerously close to each other.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended three employees of the air traffic controller department for "carelessness", according to CAAN spokesperson Jagannath Niroula.

Three officers suspended

The CAAN has suspended the three officers, who were in charge of the control room at the time of the incident.

On Friday morning, an Airbus A-320 aircraft of the Nepal Airlines coming to Kathmandu from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and an Air India plane coming to Kathmandu from New Delhi almost collided.

The Air India aircraft was descending from 19,000 ft while the Nepal Airlines aircraft was flying at an altitude of 15,000 ft at the same location, Niroula said.

After it was shown on the radar that the two aircraft were in proximity, the Nepal Airlines aircraft descended to 7,000 ft, the spokesperson said.

The Civil Aviation Authority has formed a three-member probe committee to investigate the matter.

There was no immediate comment from Air India.