Air India plane crash: This is the runway the aeroplane skidded from
Air India plane crash: The runway off which Air India Express flight IX-1344 skidded is situated at a unique and precarious place. The runway at Karipur Airport is situated on a 'tabletop' mountain. The runway is situated at the top of a mountain that is spread out like a tabletop. The elevated part of the mountain does not have any steep gradient and runs flat for several kilometres.
This throws up a challenge for pilots as a slight overshooting of the plane may result in plane falling off the edge of tabletop mountain.
Have a look at how the runway is situated
The runway
The worst seems to have come true for flight IX-1344. It was raining at the time of the crash, visibility was low and it is being reported that the landing gears slipped due to the film of the water on runway. This resulted in the plane going off the runway and plane fell several hundread feet and broke into two pieces.
The cockpit and cabin have suffered extensive damage.
There were 191 people on-board including the flight crew.The crash took place between 7:30 and 7:45 pm on Friday evening.
The rescue effort is on. 30-40 people have been admitted to hospital.
As the plane crashed, the first 5 rows of seats suffered extensive damage. It is being reported that it is highly unlikely that passengers seated in these rows would survive the crash.
