7 injured as Gulf Air plane skids off runway at Kochi airport

The Hindu

• It would take another 10 hours for the airport to be fully operational. However, smaller ATR aircrafts can land, airport director A.C.K. Nair said.

 

Kochi, 29 August 2011: The Gulf Air aircraft with 137 passengers and six crew members on board that landed at the CIAL here on Monday shot off the runway and got stuck in the slush.

 

The Gulf Air plane stuck in the slush, after it shot off the runway, at Cochin International Airport.

 

Officials said that the flight GF 270 touched down the tarmac at 3.55 a.m. and slipped off the runway. Seven passengers sustained injuries. Of this, the condition of two is serious.

 

The passengers were evacuated through the emergency exit of the aircraft and shifted to the airport health centre.

 

Reports said the aircraft had hit air pockets while approaching the airport and lost its control for sometime. The incident also resulted in an unstable approach of the aircraft which eventually led to overshot.

 

Following the incidents, airport was completely shut down. It would take at least 10 hours to resume the operations, airport company officials said.

 

Following the shut down, all the international and domestic flights that were scheduled to land here were diverted to the neighbouring stations. Both the domestic and international passenger terminals have been crammed with passengers who were scheduled to depart during the morning hours.