At least 18 people, including both the pilots were killed after an Air India Express plane with 190 passengers on board from Dubai skidded off the runway and broke in two while landing at Kerala’s Kozhikode on Friday, August 7 amid incessant rain.
All the passengers on board were evacuated after a nearly three-hour operation and at least 112 injured were taken to hospitals in nearby Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, authorities said.
At least 174 passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and four cabin crew members were on board the aircraft.
Air India Express accident bulletin : 2 pic.twitter.com/sQ6vw4bWjq
— Air India Express (@FlyWithIX) August 7, 2020
The flight was part of the Vande Bharat programme that has been tasked with bringing back Indians from abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Civil Aviation Minster Hardeep Singh Puri took to twitter to state that the plane overshot the runway in rainy conditions and went down 35 feet into a slope before breaking up into two pieces. The minister also said that a formal inquiry will be conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
Deeply anguished & distressed at the air accident in Kozhikode. The @FlyWithIX flight number AXB-1344 on its way from Dubai to Kozhikode with 191 persons on board, overshot the runway in rainy conditions & went down 35 ft. into a slope before breaking up into two pieces.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 7, 2020
Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to Kerala CM @vijayanpinarayi Ji regarding the situation. Authorities are at the spot, providing all assistance to the affected.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 7, 2020
Helplines are open. #CCJaccidentThese numbers will assist you in providing information about passengers who were on the Air india Express AXB1344 from @DXB to CCJ. Airport Control Room – 0483 2719493Malappuram Collectorate – 0483 2736320Kozhikode Collectorate – 0495 2376901 pic.twitter.com/aPjh8ujav4
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) August 7, 2020
Shortly after the incident, a global flight tracker website, Flightradar24, showed that the Air India Express plane tried to land at least twice at the tabletop airport, which refers to a runway on the top of a plateau or hill with one or both ends adjacent to a steep elevation which drops into a gorge. Such an airport poses serious challenging conditions for landing.
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