At Bengaluru Airport, mid-air collision between two Indigo flights averted

Two IndiGo aircraft came close to colliding with each other mid-air while taking off from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) earlier in January. The incident occurred on January 7, when IndiGo flights 6E 455 departing for Kolkata and 6E 246 for Bhubaneswar were permitted to depart at the same time.

The incident was neither recorded in the logbooks nor was it reported by the Airports Authority of India to the country's aviation regulator, both of which are mandatory.

The report suggested that the two planes took off for their designated destinations and had an instant face-off in mid-air at an altitude of over 3000 feet in the skies over Bengaluru.

The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has two runways a north runway and a south runway. The runways are not used for simultaneous departures as flights taking off from the same distance can intersect with each other. In other words, parallel runway operations are not feasible from the airport.

Kempegowda International Airport (Picture Credit: Bombay Mirror)

Flight No. 6E 455 heading from Bengaluru to Kolkata and Flight No. 6E 246 on the way from Bengaluru to Bhubaneswar were involved in a 'breach of separation' at Bengaluru airport, as quoted by Arun Kumar, Director-General, DGCA.

The distance between the two airstrips at Bengaluru is not sufficient enough to allow parallel and simultaneous takeoffs and landings. A certain time difference has to be maintained between flights movement for operational safety reasons.

“On the morning of the incident, the north runway was being used for departures and the south runway for arrivals. Later, the shift in-charge decided to close the south runway but failed to inform the air traffic controller of the south tower. As a result, the two flights were given permission for take-off at the same time from the converging runways. This resulted in a situation where the aircraft moving in the same direction were about to collide with each other. A radar controller saw this and immediately intervened to alert the aircraft. None of the entities involved shared the information. It was during our surveillance that we discovered that this had happened."Senior official, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

The incident raises serious questions on lapses by air traffic controllers that led to the incident as well as failure on the part of both the Airports Authority of India and the airline to report it to the DGCA. The DGCA is investigating the matter and said that it would take the strictest action against those responsible for the incident. IndiGo declined to comment about the incident.

Online travel service provider EaseMyTrip on January 18 said that it has entered into a partnership with regional airline Flybig to sell the latter’s tickets exclusively on its platform. All the bookings of Flybig by any other online travel portals will also go through and be processed by EaseMyTrip.

Flybig plans to induct five aircraft by the end of March 2022, and 75,000 seats to offer with over 35 departures in a day. It will operate mainly under UDAN, connecting the Northeast and Central East part of India.

EaseMyTrip forms an exclusive partnership with Flybig

“Air travel is witnessing a major boom across Tier II and III cities, and we are delighted to partner with Flybig during such a critical juncture for the industry. Through this partnership, We aim to bring more destinations within the reach of our growing customer base, and we will be providing a hassle-free booking experience and the best-in-class services for Flybig customers."Nishant Pitti, CEO & Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip

"The online travel platforms like EaseMyTrip control over a 50% market share in the air segment. Amid pandemic, this is the best opportunity for Flybig to control its cost, improve sales and increase profitability. Combining our local presence and EaseMyTrip’s market coverage, we are sure to redefine the travel experience for travelers. With this partnership, we hope to explore new avenues for growth, widen our network and flight options, and allow our customers to experience the best-in-class services."Capt Sanjay Mandavia, Chairman and MD, Flybig

About the Companies

EaseMyTrip is an Indian online travel company, founded in 2008 by Nishant Pitti, Rikant Pitti, and Prashant Pitti. Headquartered in New Delhi, the company provides hotel bookings, air tickets, holiday packages, bus bookings, and white-label services.

FlyBig is a regional airline based in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is promoted by Gurugram-based Big Charter Private Limited. The airline began operations in December 2020 and is focused on connecting tier-2 cities within India.

This airline majority functions under RCS UDAAN Scheme. RCS Udaan is the Regional Connectivity Scheme of the Indian Government which has an objective of “let the common citizen of the country fly”. The scheme focused on boosting national economic development and reducing unemployment in the states of India by making travel prices affordable.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on January 18 appointed Vikram Dev Dutt as Chairman and Managing Director of Air India Limited. He will get the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.

Before this, Dutt was appointed as Principal Secretary for the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Delhi government in June 2020. However, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal transferred the IAS officer of AGMUT 1993 batch and posted him as principal secretary of the Services department in March 2021.

Vikram Dev Dutt

Dutt is a 1993-batch IAS officer of AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre.

Dutt, in 2020, assumed the charge of Delhi's Health and Family Welfare Department as principal secretary to push the government's measures to contain the COVID-19 cases in the national capital.

Meanwhile, reports arrived that the loss-making national carrier Air India's takeover by Tata Group may be delayed by a month till January. The reason is the completion of procedures takes longer than expected.

As per the conditions in SPA, all formalities of handover would have to be completed within 8 weeks, but this date can be mutually extended by the buyer and seller and is being done in this case.

Earlier in October 2020, the Union government accepted the highest bid made by a Tata Sons company for 100% equity shares of Air India and Air India Express along with its 50% stake in ground-handling company AISATS — the first privatisation in 20 years.

On October 25, the government had signed the share purchase agreement with Tata Sons for the sale of national carrier Air India for INR 18,000 crore.

According to the deal, Tata’s would pay INR 2,700 crore cash and takeover INR 15,300 crore of the airline’s debt. The cash component would come once the handover process is completed.

Vikram Dev Dutt named as the new CMD of Air India

Also, 75% of this debt or INR 46,262 crore will be transferred to a special purpose vehicle AIAHL before handing over the loss-making airline to Tata Group.

Among other provisions, Tatas will not get to retain non-core assets, such as the Vasant Vihar Housing colony of Air India, the Air India Building at Nariman Point, Mumbai, and the Air India Building in New Delhi. Of the 141 Air India aircraft that Tatas will get, 42 are leased planes, while the remaining 99 are owned.

ALSO READ - Air India’s net loss increased by more than 43% to INR 5,422.6 crore in April-September

ALSO READ - Handover of Air India to the Tata Group postponed for a month

The Republic Day parade on the Rajpath in 2022 will see the "grandest and largest" flypast ever with a total of 75 aircraft to mark the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, an IAF official said on Monday, January 17.

The flypast will conclude with seven jaguar fighter aircraft flying in the "Amrit" formation to commemorate the 75 years of Independence.

"The flypast this year will be the grandest and largest with 75 aircraft from IAF, Army and Navy flying during the Republic Day parade. This is in line with the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.The flypast will include Tangail formation which will have one Dakota and two Dornier flying in Vic formation. This is a tribute to the Tangail airdrop operations of the 1971 War. There will also be Meghna formation of 1 Chinook and four Mi-17s."Wing Commander Indranil Nandi, PRO, Indian Air Force

The flypast will begin with "Dhwaj" formation with four Mi-17 aircraft, followed by "Rudra" and "Rahat" formations with 4 and 5 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), respectively.

Among the other aircraft that will display their might at the parade are Rafale, Indian Navy's MiG29K, P-8I surveillance aircraft and Jaguar fighter jets.

All air assets of the IAF, excluding single-engine assets like the Light Combat Aircraft and the MiG-21, will feature in the flypast, which will also commemorate the Golden Jubilee of India’s victory in the 1971 War with the Megha and Tangail formations.  

IAF's Chinook Helicopters

While the Meghna formation will feature a Chinook CH-47 heavy-lift helicopter in the lead along with four Mi-171V helicopters in an Arrow shape, the Tangail formation will feature the vintage Dakota escorted by two Dornier-228 aircraft. Operations at Meghna and Tangail signify important landmarks in the 1971 War.  

'Transformation for the Future' will be the theme of the IAF Tableaux at the Parade. It will feature models of the MiG-21 and Gnat fighters which were the highlight of the use of airpower by India in the 1971 War.  

The tableaux will also feature the Light Combat Helicopter and its weapon, the Dhruvastra Anti-Tank Guided Missile. The Aslesha Mk 1 3D low-level radar which detects threats flying at low and medium altitudes is also a highlight of the display, as is the GSAT 7A satellite which is the backbone of the IAF’s network-centric capabilities.

Indian Air Force Band

The Rafale fighter and its weaponry, including the Scalp ground attack cruise missile and the Meteor and Mica air-to-air missile will also be displayed on the tableaux.  

A 96-member marching contingent at the Parade will be led by Squadron Leader Prashant Swaminathan while the 72-member IAF band will be led by Flight Lieutenant Roop Chander.  

India will celebrate its 73rd Republic Day on January 26 this year, honouring the historic date when the country completed its transition towards becoming an independent republic after the Constitution came into effect. As part of the celebrations, an annual Republic Day parade is held in Delhi's Rajpath.

Meanwhile, a contingent of five Central Asian nations - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, who will be chief guests for Republic Day 2022 celebrations, has arrived in Delhi to participate in the event.

List of the aircraft participating in the flypast on Republic Day 2022.

Let's understand about the Indian Air Force and Flypast

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks fourth amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India's aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. 

After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of Dominion of India. With the government's transition to a Republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed.

The President of India holds the rank of Supreme Commander of the IAF. As of 1 July 2017, 1,39,576 personnel are in service with the Indian Air Force. The Chief of the Air Staff, an air chief marshal, is a four-star officer and is responsible for the bulk of operational command of the Air Force.

There is never more than one serving ACM at any given time in the IAF. The rank of Marshal of the Air Force has been conferred by the President of India on one occasion in history, to Arjan Singh. On 26 January 2002, Singh became the first and so far, the only five-star rank officer of the IAF.

A flypast is a ceremonial or honorific flight by a group of aircraft or a single aircraft. The term flypast is used in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Since India is a Commonwealth nation, we use the term Flypast. In the United States, the terms flyover and flyby are used.

In many countries including India, flypasts, normally performed by the precision aerobatic team of a country's air force, are an integral part of Republic Day or National Day celebrations.

In October 2006, the Indian Air Force celebrated its Platinum Jubilee with a flypast of around 78 aircraft, including the Sukhoi 30 MKI, the Mirage 2000, and MiG-25 attack aircraft.

Flypasts are often tied in with Royal or state events, anniversaries, celebrations - and occasionally funerary or memorial occasions. Sometimes flypasts occur in special situations, to honour someone or to celebrate certain types of aircraft.

They have affinities with parades, of which they form the aerial component. Often they occur in purely display contexts at airshows, but it is the flypasts linked with civic, ceremonial and national pride, that imprint themselves on a nation's memory. Some flypasts have been described in broadcast and print media as "historic".

Let's have a look at some major aircraft of IAF

Dassault Rafale - It the latest addition to India's aircraft arsenal; India has signed a deal for 36 Dassault Rafale multirole fighter aircraft. As of October 2021, 29 Rafale fighters are in service with the Indian Air Force.

IAF's Dassault Rafale

Sukhoi Su-30MKI - It is the IAF's primary air superiority fighter, with additional air-to-ground (strike) mission capability, is the Sukhoi Su-30MKI. 272 Su-30MKIs have been in service as of January 2020 with 12 more on order with HAL.

IAF's Sukhoi Su-30MKI

Mikoyan MiG-29 - The MiG-29, known as Baaz, is a dedicated air superiority fighter, constituting the IAF's second line of defence after the Su-30MKI. There are 69 MiG-29s in service, all of which have been recently upgraded to the MiG-29UPG standard, after the decision was made in 2016 to upgrade the remaining 21 MiG-29s to the UPG standard.

IAF's Mikoyan MiG-29

Dassault Mirage 2000 - The Mirage 2000, known as Vajra in Indian service. The IAF currently operates 49 Mirage 2000Hs and 8 Mirage 2000 TH all of which are currently being upgraded to the Mirage 2000-5 MK2 standard with Indian specific modifications and 2 Mirage 2000-5 MK2 are in service as of March 2015. The IAF's Mirage 2000 are scheduled to be phased out by 2030.

Dassault Mirage 2000

HAL Tejas - IAF MiG-21s are to be replaced by domestically built HAL Tejas. The first Tejas IAF unit, No. 45 Squadron IAF Flying Daggers, was formed on 1 July 2016, followed by No. 18 Squadron IAF "Flying Bullets" on 27 May 2020. Initially stationed at Bangalore, the first squadron was then to be transferred to its home base in Sulur, Tamil Nadu. In February 2021, the Indian Air Force ordered 83 Tejas, including 40 Mark 1, 73 single-seat Mark 1As and 10 two-seat Mark 1 trainers. Total 123 ordered.

IAF's HAL Tejas

SEPECAT Jaguar - The Jaguar, known as the Shamsher, serves as the IAF's primary ground attack force. The IAF currently operates 139 Jaguars. The first batch of DARIN-1 Jaguars are now going through a DARIN-3 upgrade being equipped with EL/M-2052 AESA radars, and an improved jamming suite plus new avionics. These aircraft are scheduled to be phased out by 2030.

IAF's SEPECAT Jaguar

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 - The MiG-21 serves as an interceptor aircraft in the IAF, which phased out most of its MiG-21s and planned to keep only the 125 aircraft upgraded to the MiG-21 Bison standard. The phase-out date for these interceptors has been postponed several times. Initially set for 2014–2017, it was later postponed to 2019. Current phase-out is scheduled for 2021–2022.

IAF's MiG-21

History behind the 'Nicknames' of Aircraft

For nearly five decades, till the early 1990’s the IAF bestowed almost all its imported combat and transport aircraft and helicopters and indigenously developed platforms, with catchy and robust local appellations that were shortlisted by a senior officers committee at Air Headquarters in New Delhi, and finally approved by the air chief.

Expectedly, this committee delved into India’s rich animal world, mythology and history, before deciding on appealing names which, in many instances also depicted the designated platforms’ capabilities.

Thereafter, the practice of nicknaming platforms gained currency. The French Alouette III light utility helicopter that was inducted into service in the early 1960s was christened Chetak whilst the Aerospatiale SA-315B rotorcraft that followed over a decade later became Cheetah.

A more advanced version of the former rotorcraft, developed much later by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, was called Cheetal, while the indigenously designed Advanced Light Helicopter was called Dhruv, or constant, in Sanskrit.

Parallel to this, India’s first indigenously designed fighter-bomber in 1961, the HF (Hindustan Fighter)-24 was nicknamed Marut or Spirit of the Tempest, while the licence-built derivative of the British Folland Gnat light attack fighter and trainer, that joined IAF service in 1977, was called Ajeet.

IAF's Tejas

Over two decades later, the locally designed Light Combat Aircraft was baptised as Tejas, meaning brilliantly lustrous. Fortunately, that’s a name that’s in popular use in and out of the IAF.

Soviet fighters began joining the IAF in 1964, with MiG-21M variants being commissioned into service as Trishul (trident), while the more advanced MiG-21 BIS was christened Vikram (valorous). The subsequent MiG-23BN strike fighter and its MiG-23MF air defence variant, inducted during the IAF’s ‘golden era’ of inductions in the early 1980s, were named Vijay (victory) and Rakshak (protector) respectively.

Moreover, the IAF’s classified MiG-25 reconnaissance platform was christened Garuda, after the mythological bird-like creature whose purported activities were as mysterious and enigmatic as those of the aircraft.

Indian Air Force Ilyushin IL-76 - Gajraj

Later IAF additions, like the ground attack Jaguars were baptised Shamsher (Sword of Justice), the MiG-29 as Baaz (Eagle) and the French Mirage-2000Hs, also made by Dassault, was called Vajra, meaning thunderbolt of the gods, a name the fighter has lived up to in many recent missions.

The IAF’s Russian Ilyushin IL-76 transport aircraft was befittingly called Gajraj, whilst the smaller Antonov An-32s were dubbed the Sutlej. Rotorcraft like the medium-lift Russian Mil Mi-8 helicopter was named Rana, and its subsequent upgraded version was the Mil Mi-17 Pratap, subtly combined the names of the 16th-century legendary Rajput warrior Maharana Pratap on two platforms.

The Mil Mi-25/35 attack helicopter was cheekily nicknamed Akbar, after the Mughal potentate who defeated the Mewar Maharana at Haldighati in 1568.

Stratolaunch LLC, the brainchild of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who steered the company until his last breath, is an American aerospace company providing high-speed flight services.

The Drive

Stratolaunch- the massive aircraft, resembling two giant Boeing jets flying side-by-side, will be used to launch rockets and space vehicles from high atmospheric locations, into the stars.

Our hypersonic testbeds will serve as a catalyst in sparking a renaissance in hypersonic technologies for our government, the commercial sector, and academia.said Jean Ford, Stratolaunch's CEO, in a statement on the company's website

The original idea for the company was to use flying launchpad aircraft to launch satellites and other space-bound vehicles, as well as facilitate the collection of data on spaceflight.

The Stratolaunch first flew in April 2019, at which point it became the world's largest aircraft to fly in terms of wingspan. The Stratolaunch carrier is powered by six engines and has a wingspan of 385 feet (117 meters), longer than an American football field.

Stratolaunch is advancing our nation’s ability to be a worldwide leader in the hypersonic marketStratolaunch Systems Chief Technology Officer Daniel R. Millman said in a statement.

Stratolaunch describes the carrier aircraft as “a revolutionary launchpad for hypersonic and aerospace vehicles", designed to carry launch vehicles that can travel at hypersonic speeds reaching Mach 6, with a reusable Talon-A vehicle. The Talon-A is being designed to fly at 7,406 km per hour.

Talon A | Stratolaunch

The carrier aircraft first flew in April 2019, at the Mojave Air and Space Port, reaching 15,000 ft (4,600 m) and 165 km (305 km/h) in a 2 h 29 min flight while the second flight was performed on 29 April 2021.

The aircraft won't be seen flying passengers or cargo. Rather, a vehicle will be affixed to the centre wing and launched when airborne. The enhanced size of the Stratolaunch enables larger hypersonic vehicles to be affixed and deploy from the carrier, as well as multiple smaller vehicles.

Live Science

The Stratolaunch can carry three of the 11.3-foot wide Talon-A aircraft under its wing, enabling multiple flights at a time. Once deployed from the airborne carrier, the Stratolaunch can return to base and pick up a new load as the hypersonic aircraft don't require the carrier to return to Earth and will be capable of autonomous landing.

Furthermore, the company also lists a reusable space plane called Black Ice among the vehicles in development.

Black Ice | Representative | The Drive

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Space.com

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Sunday, January 16 it had cleared an estimated 45% of the U.S. commercial airplane fleet to perform low-visibility landings at many airports where 5G C-band will be deployed starting Wednesday.

The FAA has warned that potential interference could affect sensitive airplane instruments such as altimeters and make an impact on low-visibility operations.

U.S. passenger and cargo airlines have been sounding the alarm to senior government officials that the issue is far from resolved and could severely impact flights and the supply chain.

After the deployment of 5G, US FAA has cleared 45% of the commercial plane fleet.

"Even with the approvals granted by the FAA today, U.S. airlines will not be able to operate the vast majority of passenger and cargo flights due to the FAA's 5G-related flight restrictions unless action is taken before the planned Jan. 19 rollout," said Airlines for America, a trade group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, FedEx and other carriers.

The FAA approved two radio altimeter models used in many Boeing and Airbus planes, including some Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, MD-10/-11 and Airbus A310, A319, A320, A321, A330 and A350 models. The announcement came just days before AT&T and Verizon launch the new 5G service on Wednesday, January 19. The FAA said it expects to issue more approvals in the coming days.

The FAA said the aircraft and altimeter approvals open "runways at as many as 48 of the 88 airports most directly affected by 5G C-band interference." But the agency warned that "even with these new approvals, flights at some airports may still be affected."

Reuters reviewed the 36-page list of the runways covered by the approvals that have not yet been made public - and it does not include many larger U.S. airports.

The FAA told Boeing in a letter Sunday, January 16 that it was granting approvals for specific runways and planes with certain altimeters "because the susceptibility to interference from 5G C-band emissions has been minimized."

AT&T and Verizon, which won nearly all of the C-Band spectrum in a USD 80 billion auction in 2021, on January 3 agreed to buffer zones around 50 airports to reduce interference risks and take other steps to reduce potential interference for six months. They also agreed to delay deployment for two weeks, averting an aviation safety standoff.

The FAA Thursday, January 13 issued nearly 1,500 notices detailing the extent of the potential impact of 5G services. "Passengers should check with their airlines if the weather is forecast at a destination where 5G interference is possible," the FAA said.

On January 7, the FAA disclosed the 50 U.S. airports that will have 5G buffer zones, including in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Detroit, Dallas, Philadelphia, Seattle and Miami. But airlines warn those buffer zones may not be enough to prevent flight disruptions at those airports.

On Thursday, January 13, Airports Council International-North America urged a delay 5G implementation to avoid widespread disruption across the U.S air transportation system.

On Friday, January 14, the FAA said it would require Boeing 787 operators to take additional precautions when landing on some wet or snowy runways.

ALSO READ - AT&T and Verizon turn down requests from the US to delay the rollout of 5G wireless technology

ALSO READ - 5G and Airline Safety – What is the buzz and Where exactly does the case stand today?

(With Inputs from Reuters)

Cover Image - PCMag