Collision averted as Afghan airline flight lands on wrong runway at Delhi

A major collision was averted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Sunday when an Ariana Afghan Airlines flight from Kabul mistakenly landed on a runway from where another flight was taking off, a senior DGCA official said.

The regulator has already launched a probe into the incident, he said.

Ariana Afghan Airlines A310 aircraft operating flight FG-311 (Kabul-Delhi) was given clearance to land on runway 29L. However, the aircraft landed on runway 29R, he said.

The pilot-in-command (PIC) of the Ariana flight stated that he 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, the official said.

The ILS is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to an aircraft allowing it to approach a runway at night, during bad weather and poor visibility.

As per the PIC, he lost ILS at 4NM and the aircraft turned right, after which the captain landed with visual approach on RWY 29R, the DGCA official said, adding the ATC confirmed FG 311 was given landing clearance for RWY 29L and the captain also acknowledged he had clearance for RWY 29L only.

The PIC, the official said, 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 (FAF) marks the beginning of the final approach segment of an instrument approach procedure.

"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," the PIC told the authorities.

After landing, the pilot said he "noticed that he had landed at runway 29R," according to the official.

"The runway deviation occurred as a result of the ILS system failure and the associated loss of lateral guidance in low-visibility," the PIC said.

The DGCA official said it was not clear whether there was an issue with ILS system of the aircraft.