http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/cover-story/Near-miss/articleshow/49637487.cms
NEAR MISS By Aditya Anand, Mumbai Mirror | Nov 3, 2015, 03.00 AM IST ***Airspace over Arabian Sea, which the Indian Navy had requested to be shut for commercial flights on Saturday, remained open for three hours even as the Navy fired some of its most lethal surface-to-surface missiles*** *The Navy wanted the airspace shut between 1230 hrs and 1530 hrs, but forgot to clarify IST or GMT. The Air Traffic Control assumed it was GMT and ended up closing the airspace three hours after the exercises began.* Ongoing defence exercises over the Arabian Sea - involving firing of long-range surface-tosurface missiles - endangered the safety of commercial airliners last Saturday following a misunderstanding between the Indian Navy and the Air Traffic Control in Mumbai over the no-fly zone sought for the drill. While the Navy had sought a NOTAM - notice to airmen - from 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm, the Air Traffic Control kept the airspace open during this period and shut it from 6 pm to 9 pm, by when the exercises were over. Both the Navy and the Air Traffic Control remained tight-lipped on Monday on how many commercial aircraft passed through the airspace when the exercises were on and whether there were any near-misses. Commercial flights across routes connecting Asia to the Middle East and Europe use this airspace. The confusion, which could have had catastrophic consequences, was caused by a clerical error. The Navy's NOTAM request for Saturday sought airspace closure between 1230 hrs to 1530 hrs, with no mention whether the time referred to was IST or GMT. The Air Traffic Control assumed it was GMT and ended up closing the airspace three hours after the exercises began. The mess up came to light at 6 pm when Sandeep Joshi, the Watch Safety Officer on duty at Air Traffic Control in Mumbai made a routine check with the naval officials. "Joshi wanted to check with the naval officers if everything was as per schedule. He was shocked to learn that the exercises had taken place with the airspace open for commercial aircraft," said a source. A former commercial pilot, who did not wish to be identified, said Saturday's confusion could have caused a tragedy similar to the downing of a Malaysia Airline's jet by a missile over Ukraine in July last year. While admitting there was some confusion over shutting of air space, Commander Rahul Sinha, public relations officer (defence) said: "Procedure-wise, there will never be any danger to any civilian aircraft. There is a lot of surveillance in the area. In fact, the entire area is kept out of bounds for all ships for 24 hours." Commander Sinha said there was no mistake on the navy's part in seeking the NOTAM. "The AAI is the competent authority for promulgation of NOTAMs. While planning and conducting naval firing exercises at sea which require issue and promulgation of NOTAMs, the details are conveyed by the Navy to AAI. Over the last week, a few such notices were issued. It is confirmed that correct NOTAMs were issued and all naval firings were undertaken in accordance with these promulgated NOTAMs." Another senior naval officers said they always carry out an air-range clearance before firing. In lay man's terms, a check is carried out to make sure no aircraft is in the missile's path before it is fired. "The confusion seems to be at an individual level. It is not between the two organisations," said a third officer. Mumbai Air Traffic Control general manager Jayant Dasgupta said talks will be held soon to ensure that there is no repeat of what happened on Saturday. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
