Air India Express flight IX1344 crash lands at Kozhikode

An Air India Express Boeing 737. Photo: © Kentaro Iemoto

An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 registered as VT-AXH and operating flight IX1344 has overshot the runway while landing at Kozhikode Airport in Western India. The aircraft was arriving from Dubai and carried 184 passengers (including ten infants) and six crew members.

India’s DGCA said the plane was landing in bad weather and subsequently overshot the runway, fell into a ravine and broke up. Indian officials say that at least 17 people, including both pilots of the flight have died with another 150 people being injured, 22 of which are in critical condition and another 22 were discharged from hospitals after being checked by doctors. A few passengers were also tested positive for Covid-19.

The local Air Traffic Controller reported that the plane touched down late, nearly 1000 meters down the 2850 meters long runway. Both flight data recorders were recovered and are being sent away for analysis.

A similar accident happened in 2010 when another Air India Express Boeing 737-800 overshot the runway at Mangalore, killing 158 people. In February 2020, a Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 also overshot the runway and fell down a cliff while landing during a storm in Istanbul, killing three passengers.

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