COLOMBO: Aircraft pilots usually have direct contact with the air traffic control (ATC) of the area in which they are flying and travel as per their instructions when traveling from one place to another.
Failure to comply with the ATC’s instructions may result in a plane crash; But recently a similar incident took place in the case of Sri Lankan Airlines. A Sri Lankan Airlines flight UL504 departed from London’s Heathro Airport on the 13th of this month for Colombo. It was flying about 33,000 feet above the ground when it left London and entered the Turkish airspace.
At the time, the ATC at Ankara Airport in the Turkish capital had ordered the pilot to take the plane to a height of 35,000 feet. At the time, the plane was carrying 275 passengers, including two pilots, flight attendants and other staff.
Due to the state of the art communication system and the pilot’s alertness, the pilot learned that a British Airways plane was flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet and was only 15 miles away. The pilot of the Sri Lankan airline informed the Ankara ATC and refused to go up to 35,000 feet.
A few minutes later, the Ankara ATC sent an emergency message to the Sri Lankan airline advising it not to go higher. The pilot of the Sri Lankan Airlines said that 275 passengers had been rescued as a result of their disobedience to the Ankara ATC’s instructions. The plane then landed safely at Colombo International Airport in Colombo.