At least 17 people were killed and 110 injured after the Air India Express Flight from Dubai to Kozhikode in Kerala crashed on landing at the Kozhikode International Airport -- also known as the Karipur airport -- on Friday night. The deceased include the pilot and co-pilot.
Speaking to the media, Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan said, "All 190 people onboard Air India flight that met with an accident at Karipur airport were shifted to hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. At least 17 people are dead. The flight should have been landed at 7.27 pm at Karipur." Those injured have been admitted to 13 hospitals in Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kottaykkal and Manjeri. As per reports, 11 deaths were confirmed in Kozhikode hospitals, and six persons were confirmed dead in Malappuram hospitals. The dead includes women and at least one child.
The Air India Express AXB 1344 flight was carrying 174 adult passengers, 10 children, 4 cabin crew and 2 pilots. The aircraft reportedly skid off the tabletop runway while landing and plunged 30 feet. While there was no fire reported at the time of landing, the aircraft split into two after crashing into a wall. The impact caused serious damage to the cockpit. The incident took place at around 7.40pm on Friday when there was heavy rain and poor visibility.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted late on Friday night to say that evacuation of the flight was complete.
Update on Kozhikode #crash
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) August 7, 2020
Evacuation completed.
Malappuram collector has informed that the rescue operations at the site have been completed.
Air india flight AXB1344 (@DXB to CCJ) had 190 passengers.
They all have been transferred to hospitals in Malappuram and Kozhikode.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said two investigation teams from Air India, Airports Authority of India and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau would leave for Kozhkode early Saturday.
Two investigation teams of professionals from @airindiain @AAI_Official & AAIB will leave for Kozhikode at 02.00 hrs & 05.00 hrs.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 7, 2020
Everyone has now been rescued from the aircraft.
Rescue operations are now complete.
Injured being treated at various city hospitals.
The Kozhikode airport has a tabletop runway as it is situated on top of a plateau. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has advised additional training for pilots navigating tabletop runways such as the one in Mangaluru and in Kozhikode, reported The Hindu, quoting a pilot. As per the same report, tabletop airports create an optical illusion that requires a precise approach.
In 2017, a SpiceJet flight from Bengaluru skid off the runway on landing at the Kozhikode airport. However, all 60 passengers on board were safe following the incident.
Following a 2019 audit by the DGCA, the airport authorities received a show cause notice over unsafe airport maintenance.