New Delhi— A serious safety breach was narrowly avoided at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday after an Ariana Afghan Airlines aircraft from Kabul landed on the wrong runway while another flight was preparing to take off, a senior DGCA official said.
The aircraft, operating as flight FG-311, had been cleared to land on runway 29L. However, the Airbus A310 mistakenly touched down on runway 29R. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has initiated a detailed investigation into the incident.
According to officials, the pilot-in-command reported that the aircraft lost its Instrument Landing System (ILS) signal about four nautical miles from the runway. After losing lateral guidance, the aircraft drifted right and the captain opted for a visual approach, ultimately landing on runway 29R.
ILS is a precision radio-navigation tool used to guide aircraft during night operations or poor visibility conditions. The captain told authorities that both onboard ILS systems malfunctioned after the Final Approach Fix, complicating the approach in low visibility. He also said that air traffic control did not alert the crew about the deviation during the landing sequence.
ATC records confirmed that clearance had been given — and acknowledged by the pilot — for runway 29L only.
After landing, the pilot realised the aircraft had touched down on the wrong runway. The DGCA official said it remains unclear whether the problem lay with the aircraft’s ILS equipment or other external factors.
A detailed technical probe is underway to determine the exact cause and assess potential risks to runway safety.
