National Aviation Body Launches Probe into Air Incident Near Somali Territory  

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: The Civil Aviation and Airports Authority has launched a probe into a near collision incident between an Ethiopian Airbus A350-900 and a Qatar Airways Boeing 787-8 over the Gulf of Aden near Somalia.

The incident came after an alleged miscommunication from Air Traffic Control (ACT) which erroneously advised one aircraft to climb to 40,000 feet.

According to reports, a Qatar Airways Boeing 787-8 was cruising over the Gulf of Aden en route from Doha (DOH) to Entebbe, Uganda (EBB) and as it entered Somali airspace, controllers in Mogadishu instructed the flight to climb to 40,000 feet (12,192 meters).

The reports further indicate that the Ethiopian A350 was cruising at 39,000 feet (11,887 meters), flying in the opposite direction.

Following the controllers’ instructions, QR 1383 began climbing to 40,000 feet (12,192 meters), or Flight Level 400. This maneuver put the aircraft on a collision course right in the path of ET 602.

However, due to the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) install in modern aircrafts, the pilots were notified that they were flying dangerously close to another and that a collision was imminent, prompting them to take immediate corrective action, thus preventing a devastating mid-air collision.