Zeenews Bureau
Mumbai, June 02: Air India on Tuesday de-rostered and suspended both the pilots involved in a near-miss incident with a Jet Airways plane at Mumbai airport last week, pending inquiry
The national carrier took the decision on the directive of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which after preliminary inquiry into the incident had given clean chit to the Jet pilots and pinned the blame on the AI men for proceeding to take off without permission from the Air Traffic Control (ATC).
"In the preliminary inquiry, we have found nothing against the Jet Pilot in Sunday's incident," the DGCA said.
The DGCA added that as per their initial inquiry based on the tapes from the ATC and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), the was no verbal clearance from the ATC to the AI pilots, the ATC had only given a go ahead to the Jet plane to proceed to Kolkata.
However, the probe was continuing and the final outcome would be known only after it is completed till then the AI pilots stand suspended and can’t fly.
As many as 220 passengers being ferried by Kolkata-bound Jet flight and Shanghai-bound Air India flight via Delhi had a narrow escape when the two aircraft aborted take-off in the nick of time while heading towards each other on diagonal runways at Mumbai Airport on Sunday morning.
First Published: Tuesday, June 02, 2009, 15:29