Safety: Mid Air Collision
Hi,
My name is Sumit and i am a frequent flyer both international (to Europe/US) and to Bangalore/pune from delhi for business purposes. Till some time back i was not afraid of flying as i was sure with today’s training and superior jet an accident is a very rare phenomenon. However my belief was shaken after i heard of GOL linhas flight crash (Boeing 737-800) in brazil. I was amazed that with modern machine and all technology like TCAS still mid air collision can happen. Apparently like all important transponder failed in the embraer business jet and with a small static white text display warning pilots were able to identify the loss. I would be highly greatful if anyone of you experienced pilot in india/abroad can pacify my restlessness about Indian ATC.
a)Usually in Indian airspace/international airspace if transponder fails does ATC notice (is there a warning signal etc). What happens in such a case?. Is it possible that a transponder failure is not detected by ATC as well as pilots.
b)How are Indian ATC. I hear quite some near miss.
c)What are the normal times that transponder stop working. Are they troublesome piece of instrument or quite reliable.
I would really appreciate if any one of you can answer my question and allay my newly found fear of flying.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Singh