Aircraft

Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet temporarily grounded the pilots that landed a Boeing 737-800 on the wrong runway at Delhi’s main airport.

A spokesman from SpiceJet in India says the captain and co-pilot have been temporarily grounded and the incident is now subject to investigation by India’s Directorate General Civil Aviation.

The 737-800 arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport from Jammu in northern India in the early afternoon of 12 June and landed on the wrong runway, says the spokesman.

SpiceJet’s aircraft was suppose to land on the airport’s main runway but instead landed on the airport’s smaller runway, which was reportedly closed at the time. This meant the 171 passengers on board still arrived safely.

Some news reports in India have quoted airport official as saying air traffic control instructed the pilots to land at the main runway.

But the airline’s spokesman declined to comment on this or discuss whether the pilot’s used the aircraft’s instrument landing system.

Related stories

• Pictures: Near-miss at San Francisco runway intersection
• Virgin A340 and Brasilia in Los Angeles near-miss 
• Emirates 777 in runway near-miss