In a disastrous turn of events, an Air India Express aircraft coming from Dubai to Kozhikode overshot the runway at Kozhikode airport in Kerala on Friday evening. With 190 onboard, the plane skidded off the runway and and split into two due to the force of the impact. Seventeen people, including both the pilots, have died.
The Boeing 737 aircraft operated by a decorated senior captain made two attempts to land on Runway 10.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a statement has said that the plane, after landing, “continued running to the end of the runway and fell down in the valley and broke down in two pieces”.
The Kozhikode airport has a tabletop runway. A tabletop runway is a runway located at a high altitude with one or both ends of the runway adjacent to a steep drop. The Kozhikode airport runway is also located on the top of a plateau or hill with steep precipice which drops into a deep gorge. The pilots flying these runways require precise approach as such runways often create optical illusions.
For the Kozhikode airport’s location on a hill, several international airlines had expressed their concerns on the safety issues. Many carriers stopped flying bigger aircraft due to safety issues over the length on the runway.
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.
Tabletop runways are known for being difficult to land an aircraft even for the best of the commercial pilots. The tabletop runways pose extra threat during rainy seasons.
In 2010, Mangalore airport’s table to runway witnessed similar disastrous incident when (on 22 May 2010) Air India Express Flight 812, Coming from Dubai, skidded and crashed on landing.