Near-miss incidents fall in Indian airspace, one critical event in 2012-17

The number of near-miss incidents in the Indian airspace declined to 28 last year, according to official data.

Near miss incidents, known as 'airprox' in aviation parlance, are generally those where the distance between two airborne planes is less than the prescribed safety limits.

The count of near-miss incidents touched 32 in 2016 before coming down to 28 last year.

While 33 such incidents happened in 2014, the number dropped to 25 in 2015.

These figures are based on incidents reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Civil Aviation Ministry officials said the airprox rate per 10,000 aircraft movements has been on the decline during the 2012-17 period.

However, there has been an increase in terms of absolute number of such incidents during the same period, as per the data.

In 2012, as many as 18 near miss incidents were reported to the DGCA and the number rose to 23 in 2013. It went up to 33 in 2014, the data showed.

The count increased to 28 in 2017.

Under aviation norms, airprox incidents are classified into four categories -- 'critical', 'serious', 'no hazard' and 'unclassified'.

The officials noted that there was only one 'critical' incident during the 2012-17 period.

In recent times, there have been airprox incidents, including the one that involved two IndiGo aircraft.

This incident happened on July 10 in the Bangalore airspace. The planes were operating on Coimbatore-Hyderabad and Bangalore-Cochin routes.

The officials said this incident was classified under the 'no hazard' category and is being probed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).

India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world and many domestic airlines have placed orders for a large number of aircraft as they look to cater to the rising passenger traffic.