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DGCA removes ATC official from duty after Afghanistan flight lands on wrong runway at Delhi airport

NEW DELHI: Following the landing of a KabulDelhi flight on the wrong runway on Sunday, the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Monday rostered the airports Air Traffic Control controller, according to sources. The official had failed to alert the Flight Captain that the flight was approaching the wrong runway before it landed. Flight AFG-311, operated by Ariana Afghan, was given clearance to land on RWY 29L, explained an official. However, the aircraft landed on the RWY 29R. A potential tragedy was averted as an Air India flight to Riyadh, which was on the runway, took off just a few minutes prior to the landing of the Afghan flight. The Flight Captain lost sight of the Instrument. Landing System at four nautical miles and the aircraft turned right after which the captain landed with the aid of visual approach on RWY 29R, the official explained. Meanwhile, the ATC has confirmed that FG 311 was given landing clearance for RWY 29L and the Captain also acknowledged he had clearance for RWY 29L only. The Air Safety department of the Northern Region of the DGCA had sought a statement from Captain Abdul Maroof Sikandari on the issue. In his communication, Captain Sikandari said, After the final approach fix, both the ILS systems malfunctioned. The aircraft was meant to land on the ILS for Runway 29L. Due to the poor visibility and the failure of the ILS guidance, the aircraft unintentionally deviated from the intended approach path. We were not advised by the Delhi Tower of any deviation during the approach. His explanation further stated that only after landing, he realised that the flight had landed at 29R. The runway tower informed us that we had touched down on Runway 29R instead of Runway 29L. The runway deviation occurred as a result of the ILS system failure and the associated loss of lateral guidance in low-visibility, he emphasised. The Safety Office cross checked the radar plots and replayed the ATC tapes and confirmed that the ATC controller had not alerted the Ariana aircraft about the plane approaching the wrong runway, the official said. Hence, the DGCA has off-rostered him from ATC duties, he added.