Afghan flight’s wrong-runway landing at Delhi airport sparks safety investigation

New Delhi: A serious safety scare was reported at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport when an Ariana Afghan Airlines flight from Kabul landed on a runway primarily reserved for take-offs, prompting an official investigation into possible lapses in air traffic coordination.

The incident occurred around 12.07 p.m. on Sunday, when flight FG 311,, an Airbus A310 operating from Kabul, touched down on Runway 29R is normally used for departures, while Runway 29L handles arrivals, though the two can occasionally be interchanged depending on operational needs such as wind conditions.

Airport sources said a major accident was narrowly avoided because no aircraft had been lined up for departure on 29R at the time the Afghan jet landed. Had a plane been waiting for take-off, the unexpected arrival could have led to a runway incursion with potentially grave consequences.

A detailed probe has been launched to determine whether the runway landing resulted from a mistake by the cockpit crew or from directions issued by Delhi’s air traffic control. Investigators will examine communication records, approach clearances and cockpit procedures to establish how the aircraft came to land on a runway earmarked for departures.

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.