Kozhikode crash: Air India Express plane touched down near taxiway, 1,000 metres from beginning of runway

Rescue operations were completed around midnight and airport operations resumed at 3 am on Saturday morning. (Photo source: ANI)

The Air India Express plane, carrying 190 people from Dubai, on Friday touched down near a taxiway that is around 1,000 metres from the beginning of the runway at the Kozhikode airport before breaking up into two pieces, according to AAI. The pilot of the ill-fated flight — IX-1344 — could not sight the runway in the first landing attempt due to heavy rains.

The Kozhikode airport in Kerala has a table-top runway and is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Generally, table-top runways are constructed on a hilly or an elevated terrain. At least 18 people, including two pilots, have died in the crash.

An AAI spokesperson said that runway 28 was in use and in the first landing attempt, the pilot could not sight the runway and requested for runway 10.

Citing information from the Air Traffic Controller (ATC), the spokesperson said the aircraft touched down near taxiway ‘C’, which is approximately 1,000 metres from the beginning of runway 10. The total length of the runway is 2,700 metres.

The spokesperson also said that it was raining over the airfield and reported visibility at the time of landing was 2,000 metres. Rescue operations were completed around midnight and airport operations resumed at 3 am on Saturday morning. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft while landing overshot the runway and went down 35 feet into a slope before breaking up into two pieces.