Air India crash: 20 died, many injured in the ‘near to death’ plane crash at Calicut Airport
Kerala: An Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by B737 had been crashed on Friday after skidding from the runway at Karipur Airport. The aircraft from Dubai to Calicut carry 191 passengers. There were 174 adult passengers, 10 infants, 2 pilots and 4 cabin crew on board the aircraft.
It was a special flight, part of Vande Bharat Mission, carrying Indians who were trapped in abroad because of the coronavirus back home. The aircraft skidded off a hilltop runway and split in two while landing in cumbersomely hefty rain in the Kerala.
According to updated reports, 20 people are identified dead and injuring more than 123 as per police reports. The pilot Captain Deepak Sathe and his co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar were among 20 people who were killed in the plane crash.
The airline said that it was a two year old Boeing 737-800 flew from Dubai to Kozhikode, additionally called Calicut, in Kerala, India’s southernmost state.
Dubai-predicated aviation consultant Mark Martin expressed that due to annual monsoon conditions appeared to be a factor, it was too early to determine the cause of the crash.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is going to pay a visit at Karipur airport today and it may be possible, he will visit the injured people in hospitals.
PM Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on this tragic accident and many other ministers also expressed their sadness.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was “pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode,” and that he had talked to Kerala’s top authorizes in this matter.
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
Meanwhile, DGCA, Civil Aviation Ministry senior officials, Airports Authority of India, and Air Navigation Service members to meet in Delhi today to review the cause of crash landing of AI flight.
Experts had warned more than nine years ago of Karipur airport being unsafe and landing should not be allowed here, especially during wet conditions.