Nepal Aviation Incident: DGCA Seeks Details From Nepal Authorities After Ban On Air India Pilots

A senior DGCA official said details are being obtained from the Nepal authorities on the airprox incident between Air India and Nepal Airlines.

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On March 24, 2023, a Nepal Airlines plane coming to Kathmandu from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and an Air India plane coming to Kathmandu from New Delhi almost collided mid-air over the Nepal airspace. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) on March 26, 2023 revealed the details of the incident confirming that the warning systems alerted the pilots whose timely action prevented the disaster. CAAN also banned both the Air India pilots for breaching the holding pattern and written a letter to DGCA and the Indian Embassy, informing about their decision. 

Now India's Aviation regulator DGCA has sought details from the Nepal authorities regarding the incident. The aviation watchdog has written to CAAN seeking details of the incident of an Air India and a Nepal Airlines aircraft coming close to a mid-air collision, according to a senior official. A senior DGCA official on Sunday said details are being obtained from the Nepal authorities on the airprox incident.

As per a report on PTI, Air India has submitted a report about the incident to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Nepal authorities do not have jurisdiction over Indian pilots. Pending further details, the crew of Air India involved in the incident was being off-rostered, the official added.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has written a letter to DGCA to conduct an investigation into the matter. Nepal's watchdog has also asked the Indian regulator to take necessary action against the guilty and inform it, according to CAAN spokesperson Jagannath Niroula.

As per initial reports, the Air India aircraft was descending from 19,000 feet while the Nepal Airlines aircraft was flying at an altitude of 15,000 feet at the same location. The Air India plane was in a holding pattern, but descended 15,300 feet to 3,700 feet. 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, averting the incident.

In connection with the incident, CAAN has suspended three employees of the air traffic controller department for "carelessness" during duty hours. There was no comment from Air India on the incident.