On August 30, just as the Pak opened its air space for Indian civilian flight air traffic controllers at Lahore were startled to find that an “Indian military aircraft” had entered the Pakistan airspace. The air traffic controllers were confused as the flight plan and identification by the pilot showed it as a civilian Boeing 737 plane but was transmitting the code of a military aircraft. They asked the pilot to slow down and sent two F-16 interceptors which escorted the aircraft till it exited their airspace.
Later it was disclosed that a grave mistake by an official of India’s aviation regulator, which assigned a military code while registering the SpiceJet aircraft. The mistake which could have put the lives of hundreds of passengers at risk prompted the Prime Ministers Office(PMO)to interfere resulting in immediate suspension of the DGCA officer. The incidents intensity was high as the tension between the nations was at a peak level following the surgical strike. Indian civil aviation secretary offered his warm gratitude to his Pak counterpart Sharukh Nusrat for handling the situation calmly.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) norms, while registering an aircraft, aviation regulators all over the world assign a unique 24-digit code called Mode-S — a digitized identification number. The alpha-numeric code is relayed by a transponder that can be identified by an advanced radar surveillance system in order to improve the air navigation system and stop airspace incursions.
In 1988, a US warship had shot down an Iranian aircraft after it had mistaken it as a military aircraft, killing all 290 passengers on board. Following the incident, DGCA has automated the process of issuing codes to aircraft. The restraint of Pak authorities saved the lives of hundreds on board the Spice jet aircraft.
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