New Delhi: Hundreds of passengers had a narrow escape at the Mumbai Airport after an IndiGo flight landed on the same runway from which Air India aircraft was taking off. In this matter, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has derostered the staff involved in the incident, reports said on Sunday, June 9. 

DGCA has derostered the ATC staff involved in the incident at Mumbai Airport where an inbound IndiGo flight landing on Runway 27 while an Air India flight was still in the process of taking off, said the DGCA, as reported by ANI on Sunday. "We are conducting a probe and have already de-rostered the ATCO involved in the incident," the DGCA official said.

What Happened at Mumbai Airport 

Unlike the Delhi's IGI airport, Mumbai airport is a single-runway operation with two crossing runways. On a single runway RW27 at the Mumbai airport, there are around 46 arrivals and departures per hour.

At Runway 27 of the Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Saturday, an IndiGo flight started to touch down at the same time an Air India jet was accelerating to take off. With just difference of a few seconds on the Mumbai Airport, a major mishap was averted. 

Video of the incident also emerged and soon went viral on social media. 

The DGCA took cognisance of the matter and has launched a probe into the incident, following which an ATC staff was derostered. IndiGo has also initiated a probe into the matter. 

Aircraft Functioned As Per ATC: IndiGo 

IndiGo said its aircraft continued the approach and landing as per the ATC instructions. "On June 8, IndiGo flight 6E 6053 from Indore was given landing clearance by ATC at Mumbai Airport. The Pilot in Command continued the approach and landing and followed ATC instructions," IndiGo said in a statement. At IndiGo, passenger safety is paramount to us, and we have reported the incident as per procedure, the statement added. 

AAI Rule Not Followed: Report

The rules underlined by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) says that departing aircraft have to cross the end of the runway or take a turn, only after which the ATC can issue the landing clearance for arriving aircraft. However, PTI reported that the aforementioned rule as not followed in the case. 

(With Inputs From Agencies…)