Wrong-runway A320 landing prompts Russian visual approach restrictions
Photo: Julian Herzog ( Website ) / CC BY 4.0 — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · source
Following an incident where an S7 Airlines Airbus A320 touched down on a closed parallel runway at Makhachkala, Russian aviation authorities are severely restricting visual approaches at airports undergoing construction. The airliner crew landed without incident on July 5 despite missing signage and a lack of NOTAMs warning about the uncommissioned surface. The sweeping directive mandates that flight crews prioritize instrument approaches when operating near airfield construction zones. This serves as a stark reminder for pilots everywhere that relying solely on visual cues near parallel runway projects invites dangerous illusions.
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The alarming July 5 event underscores a persistent global threat in commercial aviation: surface confusion during complex airport upgrades. While the Russian federal aviation agency pointed out that local authorities completely failed to issue relevant NOTAMs or install prohibitive signage at Makhachkala, the ultimate responsibility for verifying the correct landing surface still fell to the cockpit crew. The A320 pilots initially planned an instrument landing system approach but ultimately executed a visual arrival, mistaking a newly paved, uncommissioned parallel strip for the active runway. Fortunately, no heavy machinery or personnel were on the closed surface at the time, averting a catastrophic collision. In response, regulators are advising airlines to amend their operating manuals to forbid visual approaches at any facility where active runway work might create false visual landmarks. Instead, flight crews will be required to utilize precision or non-precision instrument approaches for primary lateral and vertical guidance. A visual descent should only occur once the proper runway is unambiguously identified through redundant navigation sources. For professional pilots and students alike, this sweeping policy change highlights the inherent vulnerability of visual operations at unfamiliar or evolving airports. Human factors studies repeatedly demonstrate that expectation bias can cause aviators to see what they anticipate rather than what is actually there. When operating at fields with active construction, aircrews must maintain the highest level of situational awareness. Briefing the specific layout, cross-checking the localizer or area navigation displays, and confirming surface markings before descending below minimums are critical defenses against wrong-runway landings.