Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Air India Express crash in Kerala kills 18 after plane skids off runway

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2020
    Posts
    4,558
    Rep Power
    0

    Air India Express crash in Kerala kills 18 after plane skids off runway

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...?ocid=msedgdhp

    An Air India Express plane crashed in the South Indian state of Kerala after skidding off the runway and breaking into two while landing at Kozhikode Calicut International Airport, CNN News 18 reports.

    At least three people died in the crash, including a pilot and two passengers, according to CNN News 18.

    The flight landed in heavy rain, overshot the runway, fell down into a valley and broke into two, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement to CNN News 18.

    The plane, which is a Boeing 737, had 190 people on board, according to India's Ministry of Civil Aviation. It was made up of 174 passengers, as well as 10 infants, two pilots and four cabin crew, the ministry told CNN.

    "Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by B737 aircraft from Dubai to Calicut overshot runway at Kozhikode at 1941 hrs tonight. No fire reported at the time of landing," the DGCA statement said, according to CNN News 18.

    Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called on police and fire officials "to take urgent action" following news of the crash. "Have also directed the officials to make necessary arrangements for rescue and medical support," Vijayan said in a tweet.

    Both India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar sent their condolences to the families of the victims on Twitter.

    "Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest," Modi wrote on Twitter.

    The plane was one of the repatriation flights operated by the Indian government to bring back nationals stranded abroad due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, information on the Air India website shows.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2020
    Posts
    4,558
    Rep Power
    0
    https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/ai...east-3-killed/

    Update the death toll is at 17 for the India Plane Crash

    An Air India Express plane crashed in the South Indian state of Kerala after skidding off the runway and breaking into two while landing at Kozhikode Calicut International Airport.

    At least 17 people died in the crash, including both pilots, and 46 people are seriously injured, according to CV Anand, Central Industrial Security Force’s Inspector General.

    The flight, number IX-1344, overshot the runway in rainy conditions, “went down 35-feet into a slope before breaking up into two pieces,” Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told CNN.

    The flight from Dubai to Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, had 190 people on board, according to Air India Express.

    “There are 174 passengers, 10 infants, 2 pilots, 4 cabin crew on board the aircraft,” the statement said, adding that “no fire reported at the time of landing.” The airline added that the flight’s four crew members were “confirmed safe.”

    Images from the scene showed a broken fuselage with pieces of the plane scattered across what appears to be a field, as well as people searching through the debris.
    Bad weather

    Puri told CNN that amid bad weather conditions the pilot had “tried to land earlier, but then did a turnaround.”

    “The aircraft would not be brought to a halt by the end of the runway, and there’s a 35-foot drop in a gorge,” he said, adding that the plane — fortunately — did not catch fire.

    A formal investigation into the crash will be conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), Puri told CNN. He later wrote on Twitter that “two investigation teams of professionals” from Air India, Airports Authority of India and AAIB will “leave for Kozhikode” early on Saturday.

    According to Anand, the evacuation of the plane ended after the “last female passenger was pulled out of the wreckage at 23.10 p.m. IST,” he told CNN.

    The plane was one of the repatriation flights operated by the Indian government to bring back nationals stranded abroad due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, information on the Air India website shows.

    Friday’s crash comes more than a decade after an Air India plane overshot a runway in the southern Indian city of Mangalore, crashed into a ravine and burst into flames — killing 158 people.

    According to Reuters, both Mangalore International Airport — site of the 2010 crash — and Kozhikode Calicut International Airport have tabletop runways, which it describes as having a steep drop on one or both ends of the runway.

    Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called on police and fire officials “to take urgent action” following news of the crash. “Have also directed the officials to make necessary arrangements for rescue and medical support,” Vijayan said in a tweet.

    Both India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar sent their condolences to the families of the victims on Twitter.

    “Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest,” Modi wrote on Twitter.

    Air India Express is a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, according to its website. It operates 25 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2020
    Posts
    4,558
    Rep Power
    0
    https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/air-...ougher-2276071

    New Delhi: Shortly after an Air India Express plane from Dubai with 190 on board skidded off the runway in Kerala's Kozhikode and broke into pieces, a top expert said he had feared a disaster on the tabletop runway that is surrounded by deep gorges. Eighteen people, including both the pilots, have died.
    The Boeing 737 aircraft made two attempts to land on Runway 10, according to the flight radar. According to a playback on flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, the plane circled the airport several times before attempting to land.

    The plane, after landing, "continued running to the end of the runway and fell down in the valley and broke down in two pieces", said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a statement.

    The Kozhikode airport has a tabletop runway, one of those located on the top of a plateau or hill with one or both ends adjacent to a steep precipice which drops into a deep gorge.

    The airport is located on a hill, and several international airlines had stopped flying bigger aircraft including Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 jets into Kozhikode due to safety issues over the length on the runway.

    Air Safety expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan said he had detailed in a report around nine years ago that Calicut (now Kozhikode) airport was not safe for landings.

    Of the four airports in Kerala, the Kozhikode airport has the shortest runway. The runway has suffered serious damage in incessant rain in the past.

    "The runway has a steep downslope, no safety area. They were warned nine years back and given proof but they continued to operate and declared the airport safe," Captain Ranganathan said, claiming he had predicted a disaster in 2020 in some airfields and Kozhikode was among them.

    "If there are casualties, then it is murder, a criminal offence," he added.

    The plane, a next-generation Boeing 737, overshot the runway that was slick with rain, slid down a valley and broke into pieces.

    "There are 200-feet deep gorges on both sides of the tarmac. It is a very steep downslope. Airlines have been operating blindly there," said Captain Ranganathan.

    Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who represents Thiruvananthapuram, said the airport was "by no means a small one" and handled a considerable number of international flights.



    "It has a long runway. It is not a small airport or close to the edge of the runaway," Mr Tharoor said, commenting that the disaster took place because of extreme weather conditions, including severe rain and high-velocity winds.

    Helplines: Air India Express - 1800 2222 71, Airport Control Room - 0483 2719493, Malappuram Collectorate - 0483 2736320, Kozhikode Collectorate - 0495 2376901.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •