Alert pilot averts 2 Vistara planes from colliding at Delhi airport. She saved over 300 lives

The Vistara planes were carrying 150 passengers each. (Representational)

A catastrophe was narrowly averted at Delhi Airport when an alert pilot intervened just in the nick of time preventing two Vistara flights, each carrying approximately 150 passengers, from crashing into each other.

The episode occurred on a typical afternoon when skies were busy with departures and arrivals. The first flight, a Vistara aircraft en route from Ahmedabad to Delhi, had successfully touched down and was directed by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) to cross an active runway on its way to the parking bay. Meanwhile, a second Vistara plane, slated for a flight from Delhi to Bagdogra, was given clearance to take off from the same runway.

Captain Sonu Gill, a seasoned pilot at the helm of the Ahmedabad-Delhi flight, spotted the impending danger when the two planes were a mere 1.8 kilometers apart. Captain Gill promptly alerted the ATC of the imminent clash averting the disaster.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Vistara flight from Ahmedabad, had followed instructions to cross the runway to its designated parking area. However, an ATC official "momentarily forgot" these instructions and greenlit the takeoff of the Delhi-Bagdogra flight from the same runway.

“Both were given permission at the same time but ATC took control immediately. The ATC (Air Traffic Control) officer on duty asked Vistara flight to abort take-off,” an official told news agency ANI.

In a statement, the DGCA recounted the tense moments that unfolded: "An alert pilot in the aircraft crossing the runway (VTI926) alerted Air Traffic Control, and the aircraft on its take-off run (VTI725) was ordered to abort take-off."

The ATC official responsible for the potentially disastrous runway incursion was derostered. The Delhi-Bagdogra flight was deftly maneuvered back from the active runway to its parking bay. It was refuelled and braking systems were also checked.