SpiceJet flight mishap: Accident can happen anytime at Mumbai airport, claims AAI official

SpiceJet Boeing 737 aircraft SpiceJet Boeing 737 aircraft skidded off the main runway while landing at the Mumbai airport.

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Mumbai: Hours after the SpiceJet Boeing 737 aircraft which overshot a wet runway while landing at the airport in rain-hit Mumbai and got stuck in the mud, a senior airport official claimed that safety measures were not upto the mark at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) airport.

While making the sensational revelation, S Mangala, DGM (Aviation Safety), said that if the SpiceJet Varanasi-Mumbai flight SG-703 with 183 passengers had landed from the opposite direction and overrun the runway, it would have hit the non-frangible JBS (Jet Blast Shield) and gone up in flames as there is no soft RESA (muddy area meant to stop an aircraft) beyond the runway on that side.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) official claimed to have repeatedly warned and written to DGCA the Chairman of AAI, all the airlines and the ATCOs (Air Traffic Controllers) that such an accident can happen any time.

"Please keep it in mind that if there is an accident of an aircraft with foreign passengers on board, the State of India/GOI, as a single entity, will be held accountable/liable in the International Court of Justice," Mangala said in her email to authorities.

However, an airport official rubbished Mangala's claims saying saftey measures at the Mumbai airport were according to DGCA and AAI standards.

A Spicejet plane carrying 183 people had skidded off the main runway while landing and got stuck in the soft wet mud, blocking the main runway 09/27 on Tuesday.

During landing the aircraft overshot the runway and skidded off into the unpaved surface due to wet runway conditions caused due to heavy rains.

The passengers were safely evacuated using the emergency chute of the Boeing 737 aircraft, an airport official said.

The mishap, that occurred at around 10 pm, forced suspension of operations on the main runway.

More than 180 flights at the Mumbai airport had to be cancelled in the past 24 hours due to heavy rainfall in the city and after a SpiceJet aircraft skidded off the runway and got stuck in mud, shutting down the main runway.

(With DNA inputs)