Incident Overview
On 17 January 2025, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-150, an Airbus A320-214 registered as AP-BON, mistakenly landed on runway (R/W) 36L instead of the intended R/W 36R at Allama Iqbal International Airport (AIIAP), Lahore. The aircraft was a scheduled commercial passenger flight that had departed from King Fahd International Airport (OEDF), Dammam, Saudi Arabia, bound for Multan International Airport (MIAP), Multan. The flight was diverted to Lahore due to adverse weather conditions at Multan.
Sequence of Events
After entering Pakistani airspace, the crew discussed diversion options. Weather updates indicated visibility of 50 meters at Multan, 4 kilometers at Karachi, and 300 meters in fog at Lahore. The crew initially received instructions to proceed to Multan with a possible diversion to Karachi. However, the flight crew expressed concerns about flight duty times and cabin crew availability, and ultimately decided to divert to Lahore after further coordination with PIA Karachi communication.
Upon arrival at Lahore, low visibility procedures (LVP) were in effect due to foggy conditions. Air traffic control cleared PK-150 for an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach (CAT-III) to R/W 36R. However, the aircraft aligned with and landed on R/W 36L.
Cause of the Incident
The investigation determined that the wrong runway was selected because the ILS frequency was incorrectly entered into the Flight Management System (FMS). This mis-selection caused the aircraft to track the ILS for R/W 36L instead of the intended R/W 36R.
Injuries and Damage
There were no injuries to persons on board or on the ground. The aircraft reported no damage. All times in the report are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Investigation
The Bureau of Aircraft Safety Investigation Pakistan (BASIP) conducted the investigation in accordance with Pakistan Aircraft Safety Investigation Act, 2023 and ICAO Annex-13. The investigation focused on factual information gathered from flight recorders, personnel interviews, and operational data.