2 DIAL engineers suspended for IndiGo flight entering taxiway

In yet another case of negligence, Delhi airport on Wednesday morning witnessed the near collision of two flights. The reason behind the incident was the lack of focus of the ground staff who forgot to switch off lights on the runway where another plane was parked.

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered suspension of two electrical engineers of Delhi International Airports (P) Ltd (DIAL) in this case.

"They kept the lights on which confused the Indigo pilot. He applied backs at the eleventh hour which caused incursion leading to closure of the airport for some time and also delay of several flights. Earlier, some pilots had already complained against the ground staff for switching on the lights on the runways," said a senior officer in DGCA. "We have also summoned the pilot because he could have avoided the incident if he was alert," the officer added. On February 1, an IndiGo aircraft caused incursion at runway 28 in Delhi Airport at around 5.45 am which led to the delay of around 25 flights and some flights had to be diverted. The pilot, misguided by the signal, headed towards a runway where an aircraft of Jet Airways was already parked. "Both the aircraft came close to less than 30 meter which is very unsafe," he added.

In 2016, DGCA lodged FIR against two five cabin crew including two pilots for allegedly consuming alcohol. The controller body temporarily suspended the license of 272 pilots and took action against 150 other pilots for various anomalies. "Both the pilots failed the breath test. They are to face criminal charges and may be ruled out of service for around four years," said DGCA officer.