By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A mid-air collision above Iranian airspace was prevented by two Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft travelling at the same altitude and on the same route. Details indicate that due to claimed incompetence on the part of the Iranian air traffic control, two PIA aircraft flying in the same area and at the same height, close to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) border, came perilously close to one another (ATC). The first flight was an Airbus A320 from Doha to Peshawar, while the second was a PIA Boeing 777 travelling from Islamabad to Dubai.
According to reports, the ATC authorised two aeroplanes to fly at the same altitude. However, as is customary in such circumstances, one plane was told to drop while the other was told to climb to a greater altitude as the two aircraft drew nearer to one another. All aircraft are equipped with a technology called the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which automatically pilots the aircraft by interacting with the TCAS of other surrounding aircraft
