A serious near-collision incident over the Arabian Sea, involving passenger jets from Qatar Airways and Israel’s EL AL, is under investigation by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
On March 24th, the two Boeing 777 aircraft, one operated by EL AL en route from Israel to Bangkok and the other by Qatar Airways flying from Doha to Male (Maldives), came within a hair’s breadth of each other. At an altitude of 35,000 feet, the planes were a mere 9.1 nautical miles apart, translating to a scant one minute of flying time. This proximity was alarmingly close considering the mandated separation for the area is a minimum of 10 minutes.
The AAIB is currently investigating this “airprox” incident, a serious breach of aviation safety protocols, to determine the cause and prevent future occurrences.