Le Anh A Vietnam Airlines aircraft is seen at Noi Bai International Airport in this file photo. Two pilots of Vietnam Airlines have had their licenses suspended indefinitely due to their failure to comply with an order requested by an air traffic controller - Photo: Binh Nguyen Dinh Viet Thang, deputy general director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), signed decisions indefinitely suspending the licenses of the captain and his co-pilot on Flight HVN1203 on August 7. While Flight HVN1203 was en route from Hanoi City to the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, an air traffic controller in HCMC air space told the pilots to change the flight level to 32,000 feet to give way to a VietJetAir plane flying in the opposite direction. However, they did not consent to the order requested but lowered the flight level to 30,000 feet, the same as that of the VietJetAir plane. The traffic collision avoidance system was then automatically activated to give advice on keeping a safe distance between the two aircraft. The pilots then followed the instructions of the system and thus avoided a collision. An investigation by the CAAV found the two pilots mistakenly lowered the flight level, leading to a violation of minimum safety proximity between aircraft and threatening aviation safety. In addition to the suspension of the pilot’s licenses, the two pilots could be forced to pay administrative fines by the aviation authorities as suggested by the CAAV. Previously, a number of incidents occurred, threatening aviation safety. For example, a VNA plane violated the minimum safety altitude on arrival at Danang International Airport earlier this month while another Jetstar Pacific airplane was unable to approach an appropriate level as requested by an air traffic controller last month. Given an alarming rise of aviation incidents, Thang said all the airlines must learn from this experience and order their pilots to seriously take orders from air traffic controllers. The CAAV will also step up inspections into flight procedures to monitor pilots in the cockpit. Statistics of the CAAV put aviation safety incidents at 173 in the first six months of the year, up by 32 cases year-on-year. This has caused grave concerns among fliers as the world has witnessed a series of air crashes.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 18:08:54 +0000
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