Wrong Runway Landing at Delhi Airport Sparks DGCA Probe

A major aviation incident was narrowly avoided at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday after an Ariana Afghan Airlines flight from Kabul mistakenly landed on a runway that was already in use for another aircraft’s take-off, a senior DGCA official said.

The official confirmed that a probe into the incident has been initiated.

The Ariana Afghan Airlines A310 operating as flight FG-311 (Kabul–Delhi) had been cleared to land on runway 29L, but instead touched down on runway 29R, the official said.

According to the pilot-in-command (PIC), the aircraft "lost ILS (Instrument Landing System) at 4NM (nautical miles) and the aircraft turned right, after which the captain landed with visual approach on runway 29R."

ILS assists pilots by providing precise lateral and vertical guidance, particularly in conditions of low visibility or adverse weather.

The DGCA official said that air traffic control had issued clearance for runway 29L and the pilot had acknowledged the instruction. The PIC has alleged that "after the Final Approach Fix, both ILS systems malfunctioned while the aircraft was established on the ILS for runway 29L."

The Final Approach Fix marks the point where the aircraft begins its final descent to land under instrument guidance.

In his statement, the PIC said, "Due to poor visibility and the failure of the ILS guidance, the aircraft unintentionally deviated from the intended approach path. We were not advised by Delhi tower of any deviation during the approach."

After touchdown, the pilot realised "he had landed at runway 29R."

He added that "The runway deviation occurred as a result of the ILS system failure and the associated loss of lateral guidance in low-visibility."

The DGCA official noted that it remains uncertain whether the malfunction originated from the aircraft’s systems or external navigation.