What happened
On the ATS route M890, approximately 70 nautical miles northeast of the Delhi VOR-DME (DPN), a potential mid-air conflict occurred between two aircraft. The incident involved a National Cargo 840 (NCR840) and an EVA061.
During the sequence of events, the pilot of the National Cargo 840 requested a climb to flight level 390. While air traffic control was processing altitude changes, urgent instructions were issued to both aircraft to perform immediate turns to avoid traffic. Specifically, the crew of EVA061 was ordered to turn left to a heading of 270 degrees immediately. Simultaneously, the National Cargo 840 was instructed to turn left to a heading of 090 degrees and was ordered to descend to flight level 320 to maintain separation.
The investigation
AAIB India examined radar data and radio communications to reconstruct the timeline of the encounter. The investigation focused on the sequence of transmissions between Delhi Control and the involved aircraft. The analysis centered on the timing of the altitude requests by the National Cargo 840 and the subsequent emergency vectors provided by the controller to mitigate the risk of a collision between the two aircraft.