Major collision averted at Delhi airport as Afghan airline flight lands on wrong runway
New Delhi (PTI): 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.
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FM Sitharaman launches 'VijAIpatha' labs in govt schools in Karnataka
Hampi (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched Cyient AI Labs (CyAILS) -- 'VijAIpatha', aimed at democratising access to Artificial Intelligence, STEM and Robotics education in government schools here.
In a series of posts on 'X', the minister's office shared pictures of the initiative launched at a girl's government school in Hosapete taluk and said that under the pilot phase, five world-class AI, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Robotics laboratories are being established in government schools.
Each lab will be equipped with high-performance computers, AI-ready software, robotics kits, IoT devices, sensors and secure broadband connectivity.
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"Aligned with NEP 2020, Digital India and Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi's mission of Viksit Bharat 2047, the programme integrates CBSE's AI curriculum and strengthens technology-enabled learning in public education," it said.
Focusing on rural and semi-urban India, the initiative introduces future technologies at the school level, helping build early digital fluency, computational thinking and innovation capacity among students, the minister's office said.
"Benefiting over 2,000 students and training more than 200 teachers, 'VijAIpatha' is a scalable CSR model fostering innovation, career readiness and grassroots digital empowerment," it added.
According to the office, the initiative has been designed as a scalable, replicable and sustainable model that can be adopted across districts and states in collaboration with government education departments, positioning it as a benchmark CSR model for a national AI education rollout.
