As many as 102 passengers and six crew members of the Air India Express flight IX 452 from Abu Dhabi had a lucky escape after the aeroplane skidded off the taxiway in the early hours of Tuesday.
The plane’s back wheels jumped off the taxiway into the nearby drain but the passengers were evacuated through the front door.
Sources said it was poor visibility in heavy rain that caused the accident, which occurred around 2.40 a.m. None of the passengers sustained injuries in the accident. The Director General of Civil Aviation had been informed of the accident, airport sources said.
Air India Express sources said Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) had been entrusted with the task of retrieving the aircraft. CIAL had a fully-equipped recovery team.
Probe ordered
Work on retrieving the aircraft began on Tuesday afternoon and would take six to eight hours, the sources said. Air India Express authorities ordered an inquiry into the incident. Meanwhile, CIAL authorities said that since the aeroplane involved in the accident was not close to the runway other flight services from the airport were not affected.
Air India Express is the international budget arm of the government—owned Air India.
In July this year, an Air India Express aircraft went off the runway at Mangaluru airport on landing from Dubai, but no injuries were reported.
In May 2010, 152 people were killed when the pilot of the Air India Express flight from Dubai overshot the runway during landing at Mangaluru.
(With inputs from PTI)
