On Thursday, 31 July, a private charter flight carrying Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma departed from Delhi and mistakenly landed on a civilian airstrip in Phalodi instead of the designated Indian Air Force base. Upon realising the error, the flight crew promptly took off again and safely landed at the Phalodi Air Force Base, located approximately 5 kilometres away.
The civilian airstrip where the aircraft initially landed is situated just a few kilometres from the military station. According to eyewitnesses, the situation was brought under control without any accidents or damage.
Pilots Suspended, DGCA Opens Investigation
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an official investigation into the incident. During the course of the inquiry, the pilots involved have been suspended from flying duties. The charter company also submitted a voluntary report to the DGCA regarding the event.
Sources familiar with the matter stated, “The flight crew misidentified the intended runway during approach. Pre-flight briefing regarding the proximity of the two runways in the area appears to have been insufficient.”
CM’s Program Continued Without Disruption
Chief Minister Sharma departed Delhi at 15:00 aboard the Falcon 2000 aircraft and, despite the brief disruption, safely landed at the Phalodi Air Force Base. The CM continued his programme as scheduled and flew to Jaipur a few hours later. The Falcon 2000 aircraft returned to Delhi later that night.
