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Three aircraft nearly ram into balloons
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An Airbus A320 from budget carrier Citilink takes off at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali on June 1. (Antara/Nyoman Budhiana)
D
uring Idul Fitri celebrations, some revelers like to release big balloons to make big wishes. They appear to be oblivious, however, to the risk the balloons pose to air traffic, as suggested by recent reports of aircraft narrowly avoiding collision.
“Adi Sutjipto airbase air traffic control reported at least three disturbances to flights due to the release of balloons on Saturday,” airbase spokesman Maj. Sus Giyanto was quoted as saying by Tempo.co.
An AirAsia pilot flying the Yogyakarta-Kualanamu route reported to the controller that his aircraft, at an altitude of at 18,000 feet, nearly collided with two balloons flying only 10 meters away at 9:25 a.m. Another balloon was seen reaching around 30,000 feet.
The balloons, powered by fire and measuring 5 meters in diameter and 10 meters in height, can reach altitudes of 35,000 feet.
In addition to AirAsia, the crews of two Citilink aircraft reported much the same sighting in the sky over Godean, Sleman, north of Surakarta, at altitudes of 9,000 feet and 17,000 feet, respectively.
Adi Sutjipto airbase operations chief Col. Indan Gilang Buldansyah advised people not to release such balloons, since they could disrupt flights and cause accidents. (dmr)
