Pandemonium prevailed on the Gulf Air flight GF 270 even before the aircraft made a rough landing overshooting the runway of the Cochin international airport here at 3.55 a.m.
Going by passenger accounts, soon after the flight hit an air pocket, smoke erupted inside the cabin leading to panic cries of frightened passengers. “The flight was unstable since then and during its approach to the airport,” said one of the passengers.
According to him, the aircraft encountered a mid airdrop while approaching the Kochi skies and the passengers crashed back to their seats as it bounced back from the sudden plunge. ‘‘It was as if the pilot had lost control and the people were apparently startled by the experience,'' he said.
However, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) authorities sought to deny such incidents and said nothing of that sort had been reported so far.
As soon as the flight came to a halt entrapped in slush, the passengers jumped out through the emergency exit. Though a mat was laid atop the slush, in the mad rush to get out, many of them tumbled over the mat to the slush, injuring themselves.
Most of the passengers who emerged out of the passenger terminal were found wearing soiled clothes and cluttered footwear.
It was the jump through the emergency exit that injured many, said Syed Mohammed. He alleged that the passengers were left in the dark about the happenings as the flight crew did not make any announcements to assuage their confusion.
However, a section of passengers said the pilot did announce that the flight was about to make a safe landing.
“We almost faced death and it's God's grace that we are safe,” said Sooraj, a resident of Palakkad, who was yet to come to terms with his miraculous escape.
Meanwhile, attempts are on to restore the aircraft lying beyond the tarmac with one of its wings touching the shoulder line of the runway. A ferry aircraft of the national carrier brought a ‘retrieval kit' from Mumbai to tow away the plane by evening.
Meanwhile, flight operations to and from the airport remain partially disrupted. Services of small and medium-sized aircraft resumed with an Oman Air flight landing at 12.15 noon. Normal services are expected to resume late in the day after towing away the aircraft, officials said.
