IndiGo A321neo planes narrowly miss mid-air collision in 2023, AAIB begins probe

Two IndiGo A321neo planes narrowly avoided a mid-air collision after departing from Delhi airport on November 17, 2023. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is currently investigating the incident.

At the closest point, the two planes were only 400 feet apart vertically and 1.2 nautical miles apart laterally. The preliminary report from AAIB reveals that the lateral separation was only 0.2 nautical miles at the closest point, with a vertical separation of 800 feet.

The involved aircraft, VT-IUO (an A321) and VT-ISO (an A320), were scheduled for flights IGO 2113 to Hyderabad and IGO 2206 to Raipur, respectively. IGO 2113 took off from Runway 27 at 7.01 am IST after receiving departure clearance, but it deviated and turned left toward the takeoff path of a different runway.

Meanwhile, IGO 2206, departing from the same runway, climbed to 4000 feet. The breach of separation triggered a Current Conflict alert, prompting the investigation by AAIB into this potentially hazardous situation.