El Al plane narrowly avoids collision with French plane
Serious air incident above Belgrade: Incorrect instructions from Serbian air traffic controller direct Air France plane into collision course with Israeli plane. Israel and Serbia investigating incident
Investigations revealed that during the flight above the Serbian capital Belgrade, warning lights in the cockpit of both planes began flashing. The El Al plane rapidly reduced its altitude at the same time making a sharp turn and managed to avoid a collision with the French plane. According to the crews of both aircraft, the situation was caused by an error made by a Serbian air traffic controller.
Israeli airline industry representatives have begun investigating the incident. El Al confirmed the details of the incident and emphasized that at no point were the lives of passengers or crew in any danger.
El Al Assistant Director General of Operations Captain Lior Yavor said, "The plane did as required in such situations. El Al is committed to safety and under no circumstances will it compromise on safety."
Last week another El Al plane on route from Israel to Cairo was forced to return after its wing flaps malfunctioned. In the same day, a bird damaged the engine of an El Al plane as it took off from Mumbai on route to Tel Aviv. The pilot of flight LY072 decided not to take any chances and landed again at Mumbai.
Last week, air traffic controllers at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion Airport were suspended until the completion of investigations into an incident during which a Lufthansa plane was directed to land on a runway on which an El Al plane was preparing for take-off.
Two days earlier, a Russian plane prepared to land by mistake on the wrong runway at Ben-Gurion Airport.
