New Delhi: The Air India Express crash late on Friday at the Kozhikode international airport could have been due to the aircraft landing 1,000 metres beyond the touchdown point because of inclement weather, aviation experts and officials told ET. Bad weather was clearly one of the key factors for the crash, which killed about 18 people, including two pilots. The point at which a landing flight has to touch the ground is calculated based on the length of the runway to ensure that the aircraft stops safely upon landing, much before the runway ends. “It seems, as per initial investigations, that the aircraft touchdown was 1,000 metres beyond the prescribed point, which could have because of high wind speed upon landing due to tailwinds,” a senior official who did not want to be identified said. Kozhikode has a single runway, which is about 2,860 metres long and can be used from both sides. The official ruled out failure of landing gear. “If that were the case, we would have found scratches on the surface of the runway. Nothing was found and we can safely conclude that there was no problem with the landing gear,” said the official. Another official told ET that the pilot-in-command – after making two failed attempts to land on Runway 28 – decided to land from the other side of the runway numbered Runway 10.
“These calls – which side to land and whether to land or not – are taken by the commander of the aircraft. People at ATC (Air Traffic Control) are supposed to guide and inform them about the ground conditions accurately. The pilot was informed about the high tailwinds on the other side of the runway,” said another official, who did not want to be identified. The official said it was too early to conclude what happened but ‘tailwinds would have increased the speed of the aircraft upon landing, leading to the aircraft missing the touchdown point. “However, it is too early to make any assessment on reasons for the crash,” the official clarified. There is no safety issue with the airport or its runway, the officials said.
