Will take corrective action after receiving probe report: AAI chief on Kozhikode plane crash

NEW DELHI: Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman Arvind Singh on Saturday (August 8, 2020) said that "corrective action" will be taken after receiving the probe report on the Air India Express plane crash at Kozhikode airport on Friday night.

The airport in Kerala, which has a tabletop runway, is operated by state-owned AAI.

Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing the accident at the Kozhikode airport that has left at least 18 people dead, including the two pilots of the plane. The Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) have been recovered at the crash site.

Singh said rescue work is over and reasons for the crash would be known once the AAIB report comes. "This report will tell us about all the issues... We are awaiting the inquiry report and then we will take corrective action," he said.

On whether any safety issues had come to the notice of the AAI in recent times, Singh replied in the negative. He noted that prior to COVID-19, there were around 70 departures as well as 70 arrivals at the Kozhikode airport on a daily basis.

After domestic flights resumed on May 25, there have been 10 departures and 10 arrivals every day. Domestic and international flight services were suspended in late March in the wake of COVID-19. Domestic flights resumed operations on May 25 while overseas flights remain suspended.

However, special international flights are operating. The plane that crashed on Friday was operating a Vande Bharat Mission flight from Dubai to Kozhikode. 

Meanwhile, the Kerala government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the families of those who died after an ill-fated Air India Express flight veered off the runway while attempting to land at the Karipur international airport and broke into two parts on Friday night.

The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of the ill-fated aircraft was recovered from the site of the crash, a top Directorate General of Civil Aviation official said. Both "black boxes" have been found, the official said.

This information will help the investigation team to find out how the plane crashed, the DGCA official said.

The Air India Express plane, which was repatriating Indians stranded from Dubai due to the COVID-19 pandemic, overshot the runway of the Calicut International Airport in heavy rain near the southern city of Kozhikode on Friday.

The Boeing 737 aircraft overshot the tabletop runway at the airport here while landing in heavy rains and fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two portions, killing at least 18 people.