Saudi Arabian flight cancelled, several services diverted
KOCHI, Kerala: Gulf Air flight GF 270, carrying 137 passengers from Bahrain who were mostly overseas Indian workers, had a narrow escape Monday as it skidded off the runway and came to a halt in muddy areas some 30 meters away, damaging its nose wheel.
Seven of the passengers have sustained injuries, one of them admitted to hospital with fractures, as they tried to jump to safety through the emergency exits of the Airbus 320 aircraft amidst confusion. Some of them lost their passports and other documents in the marshland. The passengers included an infant.
Officials at the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) said bad weather could be the reason for the mishap. The plane stopped before hitting a wall, averting a major tragedy, reports said. Most of the passengers were from Saudi Arabia and the neighboring emirate of Bahrain.
A Saudi Arabian Airline flight (SV 778, bound for Jeddah via Riyadh) and 11 domestic flights were canceled following the accident while several flights were delayed or diverted to nearby airports of Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut in Kerala and Bangalore in nearby Karnataka state.
The diverted flights include Etihad EY 280 (Abu Dhabi), KU 351 Kuwait Airways (Kuwait), AI 934 Air India (Sharjah), IX 434 Air India Express (Dubai), 9W 561 Jet Airways (Sharjah), 9W 555 Jet Airways (Doha) and QR 266 Qatar Airways (Doha). Air India Express' IX 452 bound for Abu Dhabi was rescheduled.
The Etihad, Kuwait and two Jet Airways flights from Sharjah and Muscat were diverted to Trivandrum, while an Oman-Cochin flight was sent to Bangalore. Passengers were brought by road to Cochin from Trivandrum.
Last year, an Air India flight from Dubai skidded off the tabletop runway of the Mangalore airport, some 400 km from here, fell over a cliff and caught fire, killing all but eight of the 166 passengers and crew members.
Initially it appeared like a copycat landing. However, Cochin has a normal runway with a length of 3400 meters, which is believed to have helped safe landing. There was a heavy rush of vacationing workers ahead of the festival season of Eid Al-Fitr and Onam, the southernmost state's harvest festival.
West Asia is home to some two million guest workers from Kerala and they mainly depend on the three international airports in the state as well as Mangalore in the neighboring Karnataka state.
The accident occurred at 3.55 am Indian time and the runway was immediately closed. It became partially operational by the afternoon after a Disabled Aircraft Retrieval Kit arrived from Mumbai. CIAL runs India's first corporate airport funded mainly by its diaspora.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) EK Bharat Bhushan, who ordered an enquiry into the incident, said it was too early to say anything about what could have led to the accident.
"An inquiry team from Chennai has reached the airport and they are looking into it," Bhushan told a local television channel. They will inspect if there's any breach of protocol while landing and if it could have been averted. The airport was immediately closed for traffic.
The CIAL Managing Director VJ Kurien said the airport authorities were hopeful that the services at the airport would be normalized by midnight. There was no damage to the runway though there was heavy rain since last night which continued as the plane was landing.
"There was visibility till 2,000 meters (when the permission was given for landing)," Kurien told reporters. "We've been told by the pilot that the main reason has been there was heavy rain when he had gone beyond the decision-making height of 352 ft. At 2,000 meters, it was moderate rain but there was a sudden gush of rain before the touchdown."
The pilot was quoted as saying the aircraft veered off the runway because of the heavy rain and poor visibility. The wings, nose wheel and engine have been damaged. The instrument landing system, on the other hand, was perfect.
A special aircraft was on its way from Mumbai to remove the damaged aircraft. "Two cranes have already arrived and a bigger crane is coming from the Cochin Shipyard. We have also got wooden sleepers from the railways," Kurian said.
The airport has been closed for operations for the time being. According to Kurian, the plane is now lying 31 meters away from the runway.
"At the moment, 2,050 meters of runway has been cleared. Right now, small aircraft can land. Only by midnight would the entire 3,100-meter runway be cleared and full operations resume.
"Twelve flights have been delayed, including three international flights which were supposed to take off after the landing of this Gulf Air flight. Four incoming international flights have been diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and another one to Bangalore," Kurian said.
He said the airport officials had cleared about 2,050 meters of runway which would enable small and medium-sized aircraft to operate. An Oman Air flight landed at the airport at around noon. The runway needed at least 3,100 meters to operate for bigger aircraft like 737s.
The ill-fated aircraft was lying 31 meters right to the central line. The exact position of the flight right now is 2,300 meters south of 09 westerly approach. Except for one passenger, airport officials could complete the checkout formalities within 55 minutes after the incident, according to Kurian.
"Our first priority was safe evacuation of passengers, and providing treatment to those injured. Within about 50 minutes we were able to send out all the uninjured passengers, with their luggage, and after completing the immigration procedures. We will take steps to complete the immigration procedures for the injured passenger at the hospital,'' he said.
The runway was partially opened for traffic by 8 a.m. for ATR aircraft and A-320s and Boeing 737s by about 10 a.m. It is expected to be fully operational by late in the night. Injured passenger V. Syed Mohammed of Palakkad told reporters from his hospital bed that he suffered injuries when he jumped out of the aircraft in panic.
Seven of the passengers have sustained injuries, one of them admitted to hospital with fractures, as they tried to jump to safety through the emergency exits of the Airbus 320 aircraft amidst confusion. Some of them lost their passports and other documents in the marshland. The passengers included an infant.
A Saudi Arabian Airline flight (SV 778, bound for Jeddah via Riyadh) and 11 domestic flights were canceled following the accident while several flights were delayed or diverted to nearby airports of Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut in Kerala and Bangalore in nearby Karnataka state.
The diverted flights include Etihad EY 280 (Abu Dhabi), KU 351 Kuwait Airways (Kuwait), AI 934 Air India (Sharjah), IX 434 Air India Express (Dubai), 9W 561 Jet Airways (Sharjah), 9W 555 Jet Airways (Doha) and QR 266 Qatar Airways (Doha). Air India Express' IX 452 bound for Abu Dhabi was rescheduled.
The Etihad, Kuwait and two Jet Airways flights from Sharjah and Muscat were diverted to Trivandrum, while an Oman-Cochin flight was sent to Bangalore. Passengers were brought by road to Cochin from Trivandrum.
Last year, an Air India flight from Dubai skidded off the tabletop runway of the Mangalore airport, some 400 km from here, fell over a cliff and caught fire, killing all but eight of the 166 passengers and crew members.
Initially it appeared like a copycat landing. However, Cochin has a normal runway with a length of 3400 meters, which is believed to have helped safe landing. There was a heavy rush of vacationing workers ahead of the festival season of Eid Al-Fitr and Onam, the southernmost state's harvest festival.
West Asia is home to some two million guest workers from Kerala and they mainly depend on the three international airports in the state as well as Mangalore in the neighboring Karnataka state.
The accident occurred at 3.55 am Indian time and the runway was immediately closed. It became partially operational by the afternoon after a Disabled Aircraft Retrieval Kit arrived from Mumbai. CIAL runs India's first corporate airport funded mainly by its diaspora.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) EK Bharat Bhushan, who ordered an enquiry into the incident, said it was too early to say anything about what could have led to the accident.
"An inquiry team from Chennai has reached the airport and they are looking into it," Bhushan told a local television channel. They will inspect if there's any breach of protocol while landing and if it could have been averted. The airport was immediately closed for traffic.
The CIAL Managing Director VJ Kurien said the airport authorities were hopeful that the services at the airport would be normalized by midnight. There was no damage to the runway though there was heavy rain since last night which continued as the plane was landing.
"There was visibility till 2,000 meters (when the permission was given for landing)," Kurien told reporters. "We've been told by the pilot that the main reason has been there was heavy rain when he had gone beyond the decision-making height of 352 ft. At 2,000 meters, it was moderate rain but there was a sudden gush of rain before the touchdown."
The pilot was quoted as saying the aircraft veered off the runway because of the heavy rain and poor visibility. The wings, nose wheel and engine have been damaged. The instrument landing system, on the other hand, was perfect.
A special aircraft was on its way from Mumbai to remove the damaged aircraft. "Two cranes have already arrived and a bigger crane is coming from the Cochin Shipyard. We have also got wooden sleepers from the railways," Kurian said.
The airport has been closed for operations for the time being. According to Kurian, the plane is now lying 31 meters away from the runway.
"At the moment, 2,050 meters of runway has been cleared. Right now, small aircraft can land. Only by midnight would the entire 3,100-meter runway be cleared and full operations resume.
"Twelve flights have been delayed, including three international flights which were supposed to take off after the landing of this Gulf Air flight. Four incoming international flights have been diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and another one to Bangalore," Kurian said.
He said the airport officials had cleared about 2,050 meters of runway which would enable small and medium-sized aircraft to operate. An Oman Air flight landed at the airport at around noon. The runway needed at least 3,100 meters to operate for bigger aircraft like 737s.
The ill-fated aircraft was lying 31 meters right to the central line. The exact position of the flight right now is 2,300 meters south of 09 westerly approach. Except for one passenger, airport officials could complete the checkout formalities within 55 minutes after the incident, according to Kurian.
"Our first priority was safe evacuation of passengers, and providing treatment to those injured. Within about 50 minutes we were able to send out all the uninjured passengers, with their luggage, and after completing the immigration procedures. We will take steps to complete the immigration procedures for the injured passenger at the hospital,'' he said.
The runway was partially opened for traffic by 8 a.m. for ATR aircraft and A-320s and Boeing 737s by about 10 a.m. It is expected to be fully operational by late in the night. Injured passenger V. Syed Mohammed of Palakkad told reporters from his hospital bed that he suffered injuries when he jumped out of the aircraft in panic.
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