Kozhikode plane crash: DGCA reprimanded Airport Director for cracks, water stagnation on runway last year

Cut to August 7 this year, another flight of Air India Express crashed at the runway of the airport leading to the death of at least 19 passengers and injuring many.

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had issued a show cause notice to the Director of the Kozhikode airport in July last year expressing its concern over critical safety lapses at the airport including the runway and the apron, according to a report from news agency PTI. Among the safety lapses the regulator had pointed out cracks on the runway, accumulation of water and excessive rubber deposits on the margins of the runway. The notice was issued to K Srinivasa Rao, director of the airport after DGCA conducted an inspection and found lapses in the safety and infrastructural standards of the airport. The inspection was necessitated after an Air India Express flight coming from Saudi Arabia faced a “tail strike” at the time of its landing on the airport on July 2 last year.

Cut to August 7 this year, another flight of Air India Express crashed at the runway of the airport leading to the death of at least 19 passengers and injuring many. Recalling the incident, a senior DGCA official told PTI that a reprimand had been issued to the director and the issues highlighted in the notice had been taken care by the airport authorities then.

The notice issued by the DGCA had particularly focused on the lapses observed at runway 28 TDZ (TouchDown Zone) and runway 10 of the airport. It also highlighted the fact that the inspection team found excessive rubber deposits upto a margin of 3 metre on both sides of runway 28. The notice also referred to a particular spot on runway 28 where the inspection team had found water stagnation upto a length of 1.5 metre. Among the other serious findings of the inspection team was a 5 feet downward slope observed after the apron of aircraft 1. The notice had also asked the Director to ensure that the slope is levelled and graded properly.