Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that a formal enquiry will be conducted into the Air India Express accident in Kozhikode, which has left at least 17 people dead. According to the minister, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will probe the matter.
The AAIB was formed in 2012 as an independent accident probe committee under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Puri said that he was deeply anguished and distressed by the accident in Kozhikode.
Two investigation teams of professionals from @airindiain @AAI_Official & AAIB will leave for Kozhikode at 02.00 hrs & 05.00 hrs.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 7, 2020
Everyone has now been rescued from the aircraft.
Rescue operations are now complete.
Injured being treated at various city hospitals.
Describing the incident in a tweet, the minister said the aircraft overshot the runway in rainy conditions and went down 35 feet into a slope before breaking into two pieces. He has stated that 18 people have lost their lives in the crash, including pilot Captain Deepak V Sathe and co-pilot First Officer Akhilesh Kumar.
Watch | "18 people, including both pilots, dead in Air India Express crash in Kerala": Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. #Kerala #KeralaPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/x9p74h5Tf9
— NDTV (@ndtv) August 8, 2020
The incident took place around 7.40 pm on Friday, when there was heavy rain and poor visibility in the region.
Puri added that relief teams from the Air India and the Airport Authority of India have been rushed to the spot from Delhi and Mumbai.
On Friday evening, an Air India Express aircraft skidded off the runway while landing in Kozhikode and plunged into a valley below.
The repatriation flight’s trajectory shows that the pilots had circled twice before finally attempting to land, leading to the tragic incident. Public flight radars show the aircraft crossing Karipur Airport, taking a U-turn and heading back towards the airport, then taking a deviation to the left, going over the Arabian Sea and taking another U-turn. On landing at Karipur, where there is a tabletop runway, the plane overshot the runway and crash landed.
The aircraft split into three parts upon impact at the base of the tabletop runway. Over 100 passengers suffered injuries and were rushed to various hospitals in the area.