Saudi Airlines Flight Narrowly Avoids Accident at Islamabad Airport
The aircraft’s pilot mistakenly lined up for landing on the closed 28 Left runway.
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Airport narrowly avoided a potential disaster when a foreign airline’s flight almost landed on a closed runway. Sources reported that timely action by air traffic controllers prevented the aircraft from touching down on the blocked runway.
The Saudi Airlines flight PK-728 had arrived from Jeddah. At the time, Runway 28 Left was closed for maintenance, while Runway 28 Right remained operational, as notified by the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA).
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The aircraft’s pilot mistakenly lined up for landing on the closed 28 Left runway. Despite repeated alerts from the control tower, the pilot initially insisted he was on the correct runway. The air traffic controller intervened just in time, instructing the pilot to abort the landing and circle for another attempt.
On the second attempt, the Boeing 777 safely landed on the correct runway. At the time of the initial approach, a large number of people and vehicles were present near the closed runway, which could have resulted in a serious accident.
Hundreds of passengers were on board the aircraft. The Pakistan Airports Authority has taken notice of the incident, according to a PAA spokesperson.
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