A big security lapse came to light after Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma’s chartered flight mistakenly landed at the wrong airstrip. The incident happened on July 31. CM Sharma was en route from Delhi to Phalodi aboard a Falcon-2000 chartered aircraft. The flight was supposed to land at the Phalodi Air Force Station but instead landed at the nearby civil airstrip located within the city.
Aircraft re-routed after pilots realise mistake
After realizing the error, the pilots quickly took off again and flew the aircraft to the intended destination, approximately 5 kilometers away. From there, the Chief Minister took a helicopter to Ramdevra and later returned to Jaipur using the same chartered flight.
The incident took place when Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma had flown to Ramdevra on July 31 to attend a religious gathering in honor of Baba Ramdev.
Pilots grounded as DGCA launches probe
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated an investigation into the matter. Meanwhile, the private charter company operating the flight submitted a report stating that the error occurred due to the similar layout of the two airstrips. Acting on the preliminary findings, the DGCA has removed both pilots from flying duties pending further inquiry. According to the preliminary report, the pilots were confused by the similar geographical layout and positioning of the Air Force Station and the civil airstrip, which led to the mistake. Once the pilots realized the error, they quickly took off again and safely landed the aircraft at the intended Air Force Station located about five kilometers away, as per the report.
In its report, the charter company noted that the civil and military airstrips in Phalodi have nearly identical runway alignments, visual features, and geographical surroundings. This similarity is believed to have caused the confusion for the pilots.
Govt hired aircraft from private company
The Rajasthan government rents private charter planes and helicopters for air travel of the Chief Minister and the Governor. A private aviation company had provided the aircraft for this particular trip. It was only after the flight that the company’s internal review revealed the landing error.
