Sfiorata la collisione in volo tra due aerei di linea pakistanesi (inglese)

[Zarco]

Pakistani Passenger Jets Nearly Collide

Two jetliners, together carrying more than 300 passengers, came close to colliding over eastern Pakistan Wednesday until one aircraft abruptly swerved 700 feet, an airline official said. Two people were injured in the maneuver.


The pilots of a Pakistan International Airlines flight with 179 passengers, including a government minister, had to suddenly dip their Airbus to avoid a possible crash with an Air Blue jet carrying 144 passengers, a PIA official said.

"We were lucky that two senior and seasoned pilots were flying the (PIA) aircraft," PIA director of flight operations Capt. Asif Raza told The Associated Press. "They had just five seconds to get the aircraft away from that air corridor, otherwise there could have been a midair collision."

PIA spokeswoman Samina Pervez said the near-miss happened over Rahimyarkhan in eastern Punjab province, around 440 miles northeast of the southern city of Karachi. The two planes were flying at 37,000 feet.

A female crew member on the PIA plane broke her arm and a male passenger injured an arm and an ear, Pervez said.

Among the passengers on board the flight of PIA, Pakistan's national carrier, was Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who played down the incident. "Don't worry, nothing happened," he told AP.

Fonte: Associated Press - 22/12/2004

Commento Personale: benedetto TCAS...

[Zarco]

2 Planes narrowly escape mid-air collision

Two Pakistani jets carrying more than 300 passengers on domestic flights nearly collided in mid-air late Wednesday, and at least two people were injured as one of the planes took emergency evasive action, airline officials said. The pilot of a Pakistan International Airlines flight with 179 passengers, including a minister, had to suddenly dip his Airbus 310 plane 600-700 feet as it was on a collision course with an Air Blue jet with 144 passengers on board, a PIA official said. “We were lucky that two senior and seasoned pilots were flying the (PIA) aircraft,” PIA director of flight operations Capt Asif Raza said. “They quickly responded to the (emergency) signal. They had just five seconds to get the aircraft away from that air corridor, otherwise there could have been a mid-air collision and we would have had a catastrophe.” PIA spokeswoman Samina Pervez said the near-miss happened over Rahimyarkhan. The two planes were flying at an altitude of around 37,000 feet (11,200 meters) at the time. On board the PIA plane, one female crew member suffered a broken arm, and a male passenger injured an arm and an ear, Pervez said. The plane, flying from Islamabad, landed safely with emergency teams on standby at Karachi airport around 9 pm. The two injured and two other passengers suffering from shock were treated at Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi, a doctor there said on condition of anonymity. It did not appear any of the 144 people on the Air Blue jet was hurt. The flight, ED400 from Karachi, landed safely in Lahore, aviation sources said.

Fonte: Associated Press (via Daily Times - 23/12/2004)