Hey, everyone. So, I was wondering if I could get some, well…consultation from aviation professionals on some anxiety I’ve been having about traveling to India. To give you a bit of background, I’m a 30-year-old man of Indian descent, but I was born and raised in Northern California. Recently, I’ve been trying to travel to India more often, and I try to go there about once a year to see my relatives for 1-2 weeks. I always fly into and out of Delhi (DEL), but I may also take a round trip between DEL and Lucknow (LKO) while I’m there.
Recently, my anxiety about flying to India has kind of flared up. Specifically, what’s got me kind of scared is hearing all these reports about how crappy the ATC in Indian airports is and how unprofessional the pilots on some of these Indian airlines are. I’ve read a bunch of reports about near-misses in Indian airports (such as countless TCAS situations and runway incursions), how bad the pilots on these Indian airlines can be (like the Jet Airways pilot who slapped his co-pilot), how incompetent the air traffic controllers at some of these Indian airports can be, how Indian pilots have been caught drunk on the job, how some pilots were being put in the captain’s seat with 35 minutes of experience, how many pilots there have been caught with fake licenses, how so many aircraft in local Indian airlines are essentially falling apart, how Air India was apparently putting newspapers on their cockpit windows, and so on. Specifically, I’ve been reading these things on AvHerald, PPRUNE, in the Indian media, and on Reddit. The general consensus seems to be that Indian skies are a disaster waiting to happen, so I’m wondering if it’s really a good idea for me to fly there at all.
If I go, I’ll most likely take Singapore Airlines, as they seem to have the best service, one of the best safety records, and some of the best pilots in the world. I don’t think anyone would disagree with that, right?
Even then, I have some questions and I was wondering if I could get some honest answers:
• Are mid-air near misses and TCAS scenarios more common during a certain time of day? I’ve heard a few differing opinions. For example, I’ve heard that they’re more likely during the daytime because aircraft lights aren’t as visible. However, I’ve also heard that they’re more likely at night because aircraft lights can sometimes be indistinguishable from the airport lights on the ground. Similarly, are they more common during a certain time of year?
• I’ve heard of plenty of scenarios in which TCAS resolves a situation with two aircraft. How does TCAS work if there are more than two aircraft in proximity to each other? How often does such a scenario arise, and how likely is it?
• Let’s say you’ve got two aircraft in a TCAS scenario and TCAS gives its advisories to both aircraft. And let’s say that one of them ignores the advisory and just keeps going on its merry way. If the other aircraft follows the advisory, would that be enough to avert disaster?
• How likely is it that a pilot, maybe a tired or panicked one, would “zig” when told to “zag". In other words, let’s say TCAS tells a pilot to climb. How likely is it that, in such an instance, a pilot would accidentally descend instead? I mean, I’ve been in scenarios where, while driving, I’ve accidentally hit the accelerator when a light that’s not mine turns green. And people sometimes accidentally hit the accelerator instead of braking at a red light. Would it be safer to assume that a pilot with Singapore (or any other airline with reputable pilots) would be better equipped to handle such a situation than a pilot with a less reputable airline?
• In such a situation, where one pilot “zigs” when told to “zag”, how would the pilot of the other aircraft respond? Is there anything that pilot can do to avert disaster?
• We hear a lot about how Indian airspace is a disaster waiting to happen, how incompetent their pilots/ATC are, etc. How would you say Indian airspace, aviation, pilots, ATC, etc. are compared to those in the US, Europe, China, Mexico, etc.?
Obviously I have to take a plane to get into India, so I’m thinking I can at least minimize my risk by flying on a reputable carrier. But what I’m worried about is that, even if I’m on a Singapore Airlines flight, some idiot flying an IndiGo or Air India flight (with newspapers on its cockpit windows) is going to crash into my plane. As I said, I was thinking of flying between Delhi and Lucknow as well, but I think I’d rather take a train than risk it with one of those Indian carriers.
So basically, I guess I’m just wondering what safeguards are there to protect a plane piloted by a competent pilot (with Singapore, Emirates, Lufthansa, etc.), but working in airspace with pilots and ATC who don’t have the best reputation. In order to avoid a mid-air collision, does everyone involved have to be on top of their game?
I’m also wondering how “fault-tolerant” TCAS is. Let’s say TCAS gives its advisories to the various pilots, but for some reason, at least one doesn’t follow it. Or let’s say one of them accidentally does the opposite. How likely is such a scenario, and would TCAS then be able to correct for the mistakes made by those pilots?
On a side note, do newer aircraft have “better” TCAS? For example, does an A380 have a better TCAS system than, say, a 15-year-old 737