A serious safety breach was narrowly averted at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday when an Ariana Afghan Airlines aircraft from Kabul landed on a runway that had another aircraft taking off, a senior DGCA official confirmed.
Flight FG-311, an Airbus A310, was cleared to land on Runway 29L but touched down instead on Runway 29R. The misaligned landing triggered immediate concern and prompted the aviation regulator to initiate an investigation.
Aircraft Lost Guidance
According to the pilot-in-command, the aircraft lost guidance from the Instrument Landing System (ILS) around 4 nautical miles from touchdown. He stated that the aircraft inadvertently drifted right in low visibility conditions and he executed a visual landing on Runway 29R. The captain, however, had acknowledged ATC clearance for Runway 29L only.
The ILS provides precise lateral and vertical guidance to aircraft during approach, especially crucial during night operations and poor visibility. The pilot alleged that both onboard ILS systems malfunctioned after the final approach fix, leading to a loss of lateral guidance.
“We were not advised by Delhi Tower of any deviation during the approach,” the captain reportedly told authorities. Only after touchdown did he realise the aircraft had landed on the wrong runway.
Investigators are yet to determine whether the issue stemmed from the aircraft’s ILS equipment or other factors. No injuries or damage were reported.