In one of the worst air disasters witnessed in Kerala, an Air India Express flight, returning from Dubai under the Vande Bharat mission, crashed at the "tabletop" Kozhikode airport on Friday evening, leaving at least 19, of the 190 people aboard, dead including the pilot, Capt D.V. Sathe and his co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar.
According to the latest updates, the black box was recovered from the aircraft, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official said, "Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) has been recovered from the aircraft. Floorboard is being cut to retrieve Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR)."
Four cabin crew members of the Air India Express flight that crash-landed at the Karipur airport here are safe, the national transporter said on Saturday.
Directorate General of Civil Aviaion (DG), Civil Aviation Ministry senior officials, Airports Authority of India, and Air Navigation Service members are set to meet in Delhi on Saturday, August 8 over crash landing of an Air India Express flight in Kozhikode.
'All rescuers should go under self quarantine': Health Minister Shailaja
Health Minister K K Shailaja said, "As part of precaution all those who participated in the rescue operation should go under self-quarantine. The tests of all will be done. All those who have participated in the rescue should inform the health department. Either contact toll free numbers 1056, 0471 2552056. The health department is making a list of all those who participated in the rescue."
Plane crash appears to have caused due to slippery runway: Civil Aviation Minister
A deadly combination of a slippery runway, strong tailwind, bad weather conditions, and landing ahead of the threshold spot could have resulted in the skidding of the ill-fated Air India Express in Kozhikode that claimed 18 lives, two aviation experts said.
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said the Kerala plane crash appears to have been caused by a slippery runway as the Air India Express pilot attempted to land on the tabletop runway amid heavy rains.
"Under the Vande Bharat Mission, the flight was coming from Dubai carrying 190 passengers. Pilot must have tried to bring the flight to the end of tabletop airport's runway where it skidded due to slippery conditions owing to monsoon," he said.
The death toll in the flight crash at the Karipur airport near Kozhikode has risen to 19. Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan told reporters here that one more passenger had succumbed to injuries. Except one, all those who had perished in the accident have been identified, he said.
The Air India Express crash
An Air India Express aircraft flying in from Dubai skidded off the runway while landing in Kozhikode on Friday evening and plunged into the deep valley below. The aircraft carrying 190 persons, including six crew members, battled heavy rain while landing at 7.41 pm on Friday, and careered off the runway after landing at the table-top airport.
Earlier reports said 17 people died but as per the latest reports on Saturday, Minister KT Jaleel said that 19 people have died now due to the plane crash as the plane skidded off the runaway as it landed on its second attempt amid heavy rain, plunged 35 feet into the valley below, and broke into two pieces.
