Dumna airport remains closed following mishap

Jabalpur (MP): The Dumna airport near here remained closed on Saturday after a Spicejet aircraft with 53 people aboard skidded off the runway while landing last evening and ran into bushes on the periphery.

"The airport today remained closed. We are waiting for a team of the Director General of Civil Aviation to inspect the accident site. No flight operations took place," airport director Anup Chandra Shrivastava told PTI over phone.

After the inspection the aircraft will be pulled out, he said.

Boundary wall of the airport is intact, Shrivastava said when asked how a herd of wild boars could reach the runaway which led to the accident.

The airport is surrounded by a jungle on three sides.

Yesterday, SpiceJet's Mumbai to Jabalpur flight -- a Bombardier Q400 aircraft -- had a close shave when it was landing at 7.30 pm as wild boars ran across its path, district collector S N Rupla had told PTI last night.

The aircraft's main gear and nose landing gear collapsed, but all the passengers and the crew were safe.

"The skillful and experienced hands of Captain Amartya Basu...Helped to avert a major disaster by diverting the aircraft," the airline said.