JAIPUR: A chartered flight carrying Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma from Delhi to Phalodi mistakenly landed on the wrong runway on July 31, 2025. The Falcon-2000 aircraft was scheduled to land at the Indian Air Force Station in Phalodi, but due to pilot error, it instead touched down on the civil airstrip in Phalodi town.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an inquiry into the incident and grounded both pilots pending investigation. The incident occurred around 3 pm, shortly after the Chief Minister’s departure from Delhi.The aircraft was meant to land at a military airbase located in a restricted zone, but the pilots mistakenly approached the nearby civil airstrip, about five kilometers away. Realising the error immediately after landing, they took off again and redirected the plane to the designated airbase.While the situation did not lead to any major mishap, it has raised serious concerns about aviation safety and procedural lapses. According to DGCA sources, the confusion likely stemmed from the similar geographical orientation and layout of the two airstrips. Both the civil and military runways in Phalodi share striking structural similarities, which may have led to the misjudgment.
Source link
