ALJAZEERA: Details of a  Qatar Airways surviving an “imminent” collision with an Ethiopian Airlines

By: ALJAZEERA ARABIC

A Qatari Boeing 787 survived a collision with an Ethiopian Airbus A350 , when they were flying – Sunday – over the Gulf of Aden near Somalia.

The Somali Aviation Authority issued a statement regarding the incident, and said that it had initiated an investigation into its circumstances.

The Somali authority’s statement said that the two planes survived “an imminent collision while flying over the Gulf of Aden near Somalia.”

The statement, which was reported by Qatari and Yemeni media, explained that the Qatari plane was taking the Doha-Entebbe route in Uganda, and was flying at an altitude of 38,000 feet at 12:32 East African time.

According to the statement, the plane was incorrectly informed by controllers in Mogadishu to climb to an altitude of 40,000 feet.

It turned out that an Ethiopian Airlines plane was flying at the same altitude and in the same place on its way from Addis Ababa to Dubai .

The Somali authority’s statement said, “But fortunately, the TCAS (Air Collision Avoidance System) device attached to the plane gave an urgent warning and informed us of the presence of the other plane. The two planes were at a dangerous distance from each other, but the equipment installed on the two planes saved the situation.”

Source : Qatari press