Foreign airline's plane escapes accident at Islamabad airport

ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - A foreign airline’s aircraft narrowly avoided a major accident during landing at the Islamabad International Airport on Tuesday.

According to sources in the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), the timely action of the air traffic controller prevented the aircraft from landing on a closed runway. Saudi Airlines flight 728 had arrived from Jeddah to Islamabad Airport, where Runway 28L is closed for repairs.

The Pakistan Airports Authority had already issued a NOTAM stating that Runway 28L is closed and Runway 28R is open. However, the Saudi Airline’s pilot lined up for landing on the closed Runway 28L instead of Runway 28R. The air traffic controller in the control tower informed the pilot that he was approaching the wrong runway.

Sources say the pilot kept insisting until the last moment that he was approaching the correct runway. The air traffic controller intervened at the critical moment and instructed the pilot to abort the landing and go around. On the second attempt, the Saudi Airlines Boeing 777 successfully landed on the correct runway.

At the time the aircraft approached Runway 28L, a large number of people and vehicles were present on the runway. If the aircraft had landed on the wrong runway, a serious accident could have occurred. The Saudi Airlines Boeing 777 was carrying hundreds of passengers. The Pakistan Airports Authority has taken notice of the incident.