Nepal suspends two controllers after flights avert midair crash
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended two employees of the air traffic controller department for 'carelessness', the aviation body's spokesman Jagannath Niroula has told the media.
Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority on Sunday wrote to the Director General of Civil Aviation of India (DGCAI) to probe why the Air India plane, which was on hold at an altitude of 5,800 metres (19,000 feet) due to high traffic at Kathmandu airport, suddenly descended and narrowly missed colliding with the Nepal Airlines aircraft flying at an altitude of 4,572 metres (15,000 feet).
'We have written to DGCAI requesting them to evaluate the occurrence and take action as deemed and inform us accordingly,' the CAAN spokesman told the media.
Jagannath Niroula added that the aviation body has formed a committee to look into the incident.
On Friday, an Air India and a Nepal Airlines aircraft came close to colliding in midair while they were waiting to land at Kathmandu's busy international airport. But the warning systems alerted the pilots which averted the disaster.
The Nepal Airlines plane was inbound to Kathmandu from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Air India plane was coming to Kathmandu from New Delhi.