Mid-air collision between Air India, Nepal Airlines aircraft averted, 2 suspended

A major accident was averted on Friday when an Air India and Nepal Airlines aircraft came close to colliding with each other over Kathmandu, reports said on Sunday.

The mid-air collision was averted after the warning systems alerted the pilots of both the planes, thus preventing a major tragedy from taking place, reports said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended two employees of the air traffic controller department for "carelessness", CAAN spokesperson Jagannath Niroula was quoted as saying by reports.

On Friday morning, a Nepal Airlines plane coming to Kathmandu from Kuala Lumpur and an Air India plane coming to Kathmandu from New Delhi almost collided.

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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 was quoted as saying.

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 CAAN has formed a three-member committee to investigate the matter, and suspended the two officers, who were in charge of the control room at the time of the incident, reports quoted sources as saying.