Crowded skies can be a big risk

India's aviation boom has made it possible for hundreds of thousands of people to fly for the first time in their lives, but the increasing aircraft congestion could also be risking passenger safety, experts say.
“Incidents of air-miss are increasing significantly, and it is difficult to track and investigate every incident. With all these new airlines coming up, many incidents are not reported,” said a government aviation official.
If the rule book is followed, every single air-miss should be investigated by the DGCA with the questioning of pilots, and the perusal of flight and ATC records, in a process that takes up to three months.
But the DGCA's employee strength has not increased in tune with the aviation boom. In 2001, when there were only three airline, the organization had 11 officers investigating air safety cases across India. They still number the same.
But Director-General of Civil Aviation Kanu Gohain, who controls India’s civil aviation safety, denied that the increasing number of airlines was linked to the higher air-miss cases.
“Even though there is congestion, the radars have been made more effective. India is also the second country in the world that has made it mandatory for planes to have collision-avoidance systems,” Gohain told HT
However, India’s near-miss cases occur from far fewer flights annually, when compared with many other international airports.
03/01/07 Neelesh Misra/Hindustan Times

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