IAF says its plane was not involved in near miss

The Indian Air Force (IAF) today said the aircraft involved in a near miss in Chennai airspace on May 21 did not belong to it but the Indian Navy. "There was no Indian Air Force aircraft involved in the reported incident. The resolution advisory (RA) was between an IndiGo (VT-ITW) and Indian Navy Hawk aircraft," said a statement issued by the Air Force.

The clarification came following media reports that a Bengaluru-bound IndiGo plane and an IAF aircraft were on a collision course in the Chennai airspace on May 21 and that the mid-air disaster was averted by steering away the commercial aircraft following an auto-generated warning.

"The Indian Navy Hawk had taken off from Naval station, Visakhapatnam and was on a routine training flight from Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada and back. The incident occurred while the Indian Navy Hawk was returning from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam and reported to be at flight level 240. The matter is currently under investigation by the DGCA," said the IAF statement.

On May 24, the IndiGo had said in a statement: "An IndiGo flight 6E- 647 (Vizag-Bengaluru) was involved in a resolution advisory at flight level 240, on May 21." This matter was immediately brought to the notice of the regulator as per the prescribed protocol, the airline statement had said.