Kathmandu: Nepal Civil Aviation Authority has suspended three employees of the Air Traffic Control Department for lack of attention. Three traffic controllers at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal have been suspended. They are advised not to enter work until further notice.
The action was taken to control air traffic so that planes could collide. The planes of Air India and Nepal Airlines barely escaped without colliding. The incident happened on Friday.
A Nepal Airlines A-320 Airbus flight from Kathmandu to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and an Air India flight from New Delhi to Kathmandu collided dangerously. The Air India flight descended from an altitude of 19,000 feet and the Nepal Airlines flight flew at an altitude of 15,000 feet. After realizing that the two planes were close to each other, the Nepal Airlines plane returned to an altitude of 7,000 feet to avoid a collision.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has appointed a three-member committee to investigate the incident. Three employees who were in charge of the control room at the time of the incident were dismissed. Air India has not yet responded to the incident.