LAHORE: Pakistan’s airspace is increasingly becoming unsafe as the radar system currently being used to cover the area brought almost 40 commercial flights on a collision course during 2007, official statistics reveal.
It was sheer luck coupled with alert pilots and the air traffic controllers that on 20 occasions, these 40 flights were prevented from colliding in the skies, an event which in aviation jargon is known as an “Air Miss.”
When contacted, official spokesman for Civil Aviation Authority, Pervez George, however, claimed that the airspace of the country was completely safe though the CAA was considering upgrading the existing system or totally replacing it with a new one.
“We are considering the financial factor and cost-effectiveness of the proposal to determine how much each option would cost,” George maintained.
But the spokesman conceded: “The CAA will opt for a new system only if upgrading of the existing system is not workable for 15 years.”
Official documents reveal that on-time performance and in-flight safety were suffering and the potential for a catastrophic accident will continue to persist since the number of Air Miss (near collisions) had increased from just three in 2006 to 20 in 2007.
The Air Navigation Services have been asked to lower the Air Miss rate to a maximum three in 2008, sources said.
In the CAA terminology, an ‘Air Miss,’ ‘Near Miss‚’ or ‘Near Collision‚’ is an unplanned event that does not result in injury, illness, or damage but had the potential to do so.
Only a lucky break in the chain of events prevents an injury, fatality or damage. Although, human error is common in any such event, a faulty system invariably permits or compounds the harm. — Internews
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