Surat airport manager transferred to Assam after last month's buffalo accident

New Delhi: The manager of Surat airport where an aircraft hit a buffalo on the runway has been transferred to Assam to ensure that he does not influence the probe and his “future” will be decided by the outcome of the inquiry, government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju Pusapati also said a total of 66 ‘air miss’ incidents were reported between 2011 and November 2014. [caption id=“attachment_1829469” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The SpiceJet plane which hit a buffalo while proceeding for take-off in Surat on Thursday. PTI[/caption] He said the airport manager has been shifted to Leelabari airport in Assam and rejected suggestions that it was a punishment posting. The minister said he was transferred to ensure he is not able to influence the probe into the incident. “The outcome of the probe will decide his future,” he said. A SpiceJet flight with 140 passengers on board had thudded to a stop after it had hit a buffalo that had strolled on to the runway through a gap in the airport’s boundary wall last month. In his written reply, Pusapati said 28 incidents of air miss were reported till November 22. In 2011, 11 cases were reported, while in 2012, 18 such incidents came to light. In the year 2013, 23 air miss incidents were reported to DGCA. Responding to a supplementary, Pusapati said the US FAA had downgraded DGCA for want of flight safety inspectors. “They have been recruited, an an audit will take place soon, either in December (this month) or January,” he said. PTI