ISLAMABAD: A harrowing aviation mishap was narrowly averted at Delhi’sIndira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday when an Ariana AfghanAirlines flight from Kabul erroneously landed on a runway designatedexclusively for take-offs. The incident, involving an Airbus A310 aircraft,has prompted a swift investigation by India’s Directorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA), underscoring persistent vulnerabilities in internationalair travel amid regional turbulence.
Flight FG-311, en route from Kabul, received explicit clearance from AirTraffic Control (ATC) to touch down on runway 29L, reserved for arrivals.However, the aircraft veered onto the parallel runway 29R, typically usedfor departures, landing at precisely 12:07 pm. In a stroke of fortune, nodeparting flight occupied the runway at that moment, preventing what couldhave escalated into a devastating mid-air or ground collision.
Preliminary inquiries reveal no lapses on the part of ATC, which issuedunambiguous instructions acknowledged by the pilot. The Afghan crewattributed the deviation to a sudden loss of the Instrument Landing System(ILS) signal approximately four nautical miles from the threshold. Thiscritical failure, occurring post-Final Approach Fix, compelled a visuallanding that inadvertently aligned the plane with the wrong strip,heightening the peril in Delhi’s notoriously congested airspace.
The DGCA has launched a comprehensive probe, interrogating the pilot’sclaim of ILS malfunction and scrutinizing potential communicationbreakdowns. Aviation experts highlight that such systems are indispensablefor precision guidance, especially in low-visibility conditions prevalentat the capital’s hub. Reports indicate an Air India flight to Riyadh hadjust departed from 29R moments earlier, amplifying the near-miss’s gravity.
Read Top Stories
This episode reverberates across South Asia, where strained Afghan-Indianties intersect with soaring air traffic volumes. For Ariana AfghanAirlines, already navigating operational constraints under Talibanoversight, the fallout could strain bilateral aviation pacts and invitestricter scrutiny on foreign carriers. As investigators delve deeper, thefocus sharpens on bolstering redundancies to safeguard passengerstraversing this volatile corridor.
Source:www.indiatoday.in/amp/cities/story/ariana-afghan-airlines-jet-lands-delhi-airport-runway-meant-for-take-offs-probe-launched-2825075-2025-11-24″>https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/cities/story/ariana-afghan-airlines-jet-lands-delhi-airport-runway-meant-for-take-offs-probe-launched-2825075-2025-11-24