Near-miss may have involved third jet

DUBAI // A third aircraft may have been involved in triggering alarms last week when the flightpaths of an Air Arabia and Qatar Airways jet almost crossed.

Indian authorities said yesterday that their investigation found that another plane had been flying nearby.

There were "two aircraft going up and another one also which was on its level", said a senior official from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), who stressed the findings were preliminary.

The Air Arabia and Qatar Airways aircraft were initially believed to have violated the 1,000foot minimum vertical distance allowed between planes last Wednesday. The Qatar Airways jet had been flying from Doha to Kozhikode in southern India, and the Air Arabia plane from Kozhikode to Sharjah, the Hindustan Times of Indiareported.

The incident is being investigated by DGCA authorities based in Mumbai, in whose airspace the event is said to have taken place.

It added that the warning that the aircraft were flying too close came from an in-plane Traffic Collision Avoidance System.

A Qatar Airways spokesman said the airline was investigating the incident and had no further comment.  Air Arabia did not respond to requests for comment.