New Delhi:
The civil aviation regulator has ordered a probe after Rahul Gandhi's private jet had to abort landing procedures to avoid the possibility of a collision on the runway.
The incident, which took place on Tuesday when the Congress number 2 was returning to Delhi from Rae Bareli, is being viewed as a procedural lapse.
Mr Gandhi's Cessna Citation was approaching runway 27 of the Delhi airport when an air traffic controller asked the pilot not to descend any further and abort landing.
The aircraft made one more circle of the airport, called the go-around procedure, before landing. The plane was about three miles away from touchdown, sources say, and Mr Gandhi's aircraft was in no danger.
A Russian-made aircraft of the Indian Air Force Illushyin 76 had landed just before Mr Gandhi's plane and had not cleared the runway on time.
"In busy airports, an aircraft clears the runway in less than 50 seconds, but that did not happen in this case. Mr Gandhi's plane was asked to go around. There was no safety issue involved," an official said.
The Congress leader's luxury American business jet was being piloted by two captains.
A report quotes an airport official as calling it a "close shave" but sources in the civil aviation ministry said it was just "pre-emptive action."
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has asked for an investigation as a matter of procedure. But given that Mr Gandhi, 43, is one of India's most protected politicians, any deviation from procedure would be viewed seriously, say sources.
Officials are investigating why the speed of the two aircraft was not accounted for by the officials before asking Mr Gandhi's aircraft to descend.