US aircraft wanted to cross over Indian territory on dual call signs

Call signs,in layman terminology,are unique designations or names with which aircraft are identified. Usually,they are unique numbers preceded by an airline’s IATA code. All non-scheduled aircraft of foreign origin or which is on military duty require prior permission,known as Air Operations Routine (AOR) number,from the Air Force headquarters. In this case,the aircraft did not have the requisite permission from the IAF.

Similarly,prior to entering Indian airspace,all civil aircraft need to obtain the DGCA clearance and obtain a YA number — also called Yankee Alfa number. The US aircraft (registration number AH 124 100),according to officials,had the DGCA clearance prior to entering Indian airspace. However,the goof-up occurred when its pilot used a US military call sign instead of the civilian one that was noted by the authorities.

“The plane had a civilian aircraft call sign VDA 4466,but the pilot used the United States military call sign REACH 813,which implied that it was a military cargo aircraft,” an IAF official said.

“The aircraft wanted to cross over Indian territory with dual call signs,” said Wing Commander TK Singha,IAF spokesperson. The aircraft was travelling from Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Officials said that earlier on the day,AN-124 was given final clearance from the Air Force HQ to take off from the airport at 3.30 pm.

The aircraft owned by Ulyanovsk-based Russian private airline Volga-Dnepr spent over 24 hours at the Mumbai airport.

They said the aircraft was parked all night at the dumbbell of the airport’s secondary runway,but was later shifted at 5.30 am to cargo bay 75 as cross-runway operations began at the Mumbai airport post 5.30 am. The CISF personnel had cordoned off the bay and only three members of the Russian crew were allowed to disembark for questioning. The remaining crew stayed inside the aircraft but were later allowed to use the ‘Refusal’ room at the airport,which is meant for confining passengers who await customs or immigration clearance.

“Three members were taken to the nearby ATC complex and questioned with the help of a Russian interpreter as only one of them could speak some broken English,” an airport official said. The total number of crew aboard the AN-124 was 18.

AN-124 happens to be the largest heavy transport aircraft that was last manufactured in 2004 in two parallel plants in Russian and Ukraine. Sources told Newsline that the aircraft was carrying heavy defence equipment to Afghanistan for American troupes. The Southern Western Air Command’s (SWAC) Movement Liaison Unit (MLU) first intercepted the plane. An airport official said the flight was cleared after officials from immigration,customs and intelligence bureau (IB) thoroughly verified the details from the crew. “It was more of a procedural error,” the spokesperson said.

WHAT IT MEANS
Call signs are unique designations or names with which aircraft are identified. Usually,they are unique numbers preceded by an airline’s IATA code.

All non-scheduled aircraft of foreign origin or which is on military duty require prior permission,known as Air Operations Routine (AOR) number,from the Air Force headquarters. In this case,the aircraft did not have the requisite permission from the IAF. All civil aircraft need to obtain the DGCA clearance and obtain a YA number — also called Yankee Alfa number. The US aircraft (registration number AH 124 100) had the DGCA clearance.