Deadly crash-landing of Air India Express flight renews concerns over ‘dangerous’ TABLETOP location of Kozhikode airport
The crash of an Air India Express plane in Kerala, killing 14 and injuring dozens more, has renewed concerns over the airport’s location on a raised plateau that would seem to invite accidents like the one that befell the flight.
News of the fate of Air India Express flight 1344 has prompted fresh complaints about the airport’s precarious location — a ‘tabletop’ plateau that puts planes at risk of serious accidents like the Friday crash landing.
Originating in Dubai, the plane reportedly overshot the runway at Kerala’s Kozhikode airport and skidded into a valley below, breaking into two and injuring some 123 people.
Several users posted videos of this “pilot’s nightmare,” suggesting it was best to decommission the site as an airport entirely.
The tricky topography of the Calicut Airport. The site of the #AirIndia crash in Kerala. I have slightly exaggerated relief in this 3D map, but you can see that the table-top runway sits in a valley adjacent to hills on either side. Heavy rainfalls in monsoon add to the danger. pic.twitter.com/1tiLKU0OnS
— Aaqib Raza Khan (@aaqibrk) August 7, 2020
Some referenced a 2010 crash at Mangalore, an airport located in a similar tabletop formation. That disaster left 158 people dead.
#Kozhikode Air India Express skidding off runway in Kozhikode airport brings back bitter memories of 2010 Mangalore plane crash which killed 158 passengers. Both are table top airports @XpressBengaluru@santwana99
— vincent dsouza (@vinndz_TNIE) August 7, 2020
Both pilot and co-pilot died in the crash landing at Kozhikode. The flight had 191 people on board in total, and rescue teams are onsite. The plane is said to have skidded off the runway due to heavy rain.
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