New Delhi, July 14 – The Indian Air Force (IAF) scrambled a fighter jet from an airbase in Rajasthan after two aircraft of the Turkish Airlines transmitted similar identification codes while entering the Indian airspace from Pakistan. Both Turkish commercial flights were on their way to Delhi. The aircraft were picked up by IAF’s radar unit based near Jodhpur.
The actions by the Turkish Airlines flights sparked a security alert and a MiG-21 Bison jet was scrambled from Jodhpur airbase to investigate the second airliner over Jaisalmer this morning, officials said.
The second airliner transmitted a similar ‘squawk code’ or identification code as the first Turkish Airlines flight that had flown over the same area earlier in the day, officials said. Since this was highly unusual, officials at Jodhpur airbase consulted their seniors in New Delhi and then decided to send up a fighter jet to ascertain that nothing was amiss.
The second Turkish Airlines flight, which was bound for Delhi, was allowed to proceed only after its credentials were verified by the IAF, officials said. Each commercial plane’s ‘squawk code’ is unique and the same code is not assigned to two aircraft operating in the same area.
The identification codes are assigned to commercial airliners that pass through several countries so that their identity can be established. As part of standard operating procedures, the IAF scrambles its fighter jets and alerts air defence units if any unidentified aircraft is observed in the Indian airspace.
The IAF on Sunday informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the confusion over the identification code given by the pilots of the two Turkish Airlines flights.
A DGCA official said the matter would be taken up with the Turkish Airlines. A senior Air Traffic Controller (ATC) said both the Turkish Airlines flights involved in the incident were wide-bodied Boeing 777s.
“One of the planes was flying from Istanbul to Bangkok with the call sign 66 – call signs are different from squawk codes – and it was flying at 35,000 feet. The other plane, going from Istanbul to Singapore, had the call sign 68 and it was flying at 37,000 feet,” the official said.
The official did not rule out the possibility of confusion among IAF controllers. “There was probably some confusion by the IAF controllers regarding the call sign which led to the problem. It was sorted out with the airline pilots, but by then the IAF jet had already taken off to track the two Turkish Airline planes,” the official said.
-INDIA TODAY
