On 7 Aug, while people in Singapore were eagerly awaiting the long weekend, complete with ACES day workout, a plane in India was ripped into two.
The Air India Express Plane, which was flying from Dubai to Kozhikode’s Calicut International Airport, met up with heavy rain and overshot the runway at Calicut.
What Happened
The Air India Express Boeing 737 tried to land on the tabletop runway at Calicut International Airport thrice.
A tabletop runway, as its name signifies, means there’s no level field beyond the length of the runway.
The tragic flight’s first two attempts to land was impeded by the heavy rain and were aborted.
They went around twice and managed to touchdown the third time but overshot the tabletop runway and skidded into a ditch.
Survivors of the flight told the media that they felt the plane going “up and down repeatedly before landing”.
The plane broke into two different pieces but luckily did not catch fire.
A previous plane which also overshot a tabletop landing surface back in 2010 burst into flames.
That incident killed 158 people and only left 8 survivors.
Who Were On The Plane?
The flight was a repatriation flight which was tasked to ferry Indian nationals who were stranded due to Covid-19 back home.
According to Air India, there were 191 passengers on the flight. This figure includes 174 passengers, 10 infants, 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew.
At least 17 people were killed, including both the pilot and co-pilot, as well as two kids aged 10-month-old and 18-month-old.
More than a hundred were injured with 15 of them in serious conditions.
The Rescue Operation
The weather wasn’t great and the rescuers didn’t have optimal conditions to work in too.
The Kerala Chief Minister asked all government agencies to help out in the rescue operations.
Other than rescue staff, locals who heard the incident rushed to help out too.
@airindia accident. Pilot dead, co-pilot is in critical pic.twitter.com/pODuzqxkRs
— santhosh (@santhusarling) August 7, 2020
According to a rescue worker, WhatsApp was used to spread the news to appeal for more help and many turned up in their cars.
Before emergency services were there, the people took the injured to hospitals in their own vehicles.
One of them allegedly rushed a “gravely-injured” baby to the hospital but she didn’t survive the trip.
Investigations Are Ongoing
A Dubai-based aviation consultant, Mark Martin, said “annual monsoon conditions” could be a factor in this accident.
“Low visibility, wet runway, low cloud base, all leading to very poor braking action is what looks like led to where we are at the moment with this crash.”
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a detailed inquiry into this incident.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of India will be conducting a formal inquiry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “pained” by the accident and spoke to Kerala’s top elected official.
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
The defence minister of India also tweeted his thoughts on the incident:
Devastating news from Kozhikode, Kerala. I am deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to an accident carrying several passengers on Air India flight.
In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 7, 2020
According to the Times of India, two special relief flights have been arranged to provide humanitarian assistance to the passengers and their family members.
Meanwhile, the AAIB, DGCA and Flight Safety Departments have reached the airport to start investigations into the incident.
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