Passengers of a SpiceJet flight traveling from Hyderabad to Tirupati had a miraculous escape after the aircraft overshot the runway while landing in Renigunta airport on Saturday night and ended up in a marshy area.
The Hindu reported that anxious moments prevailed as the passengers deemed the accident to be major as the aircraft landed in a dark area of the airport.
Reports suggest that the incident occurred due to a technical snag in the aircraft.
Deccan Chronicle reported:
Passengers on board included former minister and TD leader Anam Ramnarayana Reddy...Following the incident, which happened around 7 pm, the passengers were deplaned and taken to the airport complex in buses. No one was injured in the mishap.
Times of India quotes SpiceJet spokesman Ajay Jasra as saying "The aircraft rolled past the runway end approximately 100 feet and stopped. All crew and passengers safely taken to terminal building.Apparently (there is) no damage to aircraft."
The newspaper also quotes a senior Airports Authority of India official who said:
"Tirupati Airport does not have the equipment required to remove the aircraft from the runway-end. We have already sent the equipment from Chennai Airport and will try to remove the aircraft at the earliest on Sunday morning,"
SpiceJet flight SG 1047 Hyderabad–Tirupati dated 17th Sept’ 2016 went slightly off the runway while landing. All the crew & passengers(1/2)
— SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) September 17, 2016
are safe with no damage to Aircraft. We sincerely apologise to our passengers for the inconvenience caused due to this incident. (2/2)
— SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) September 17, 2016