Kochi: A major mishap was averted when an Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi skidded off the taxiway and its wheels got stuck in a storm water drain soon after landing in bad weather at the Cochin International Airport at 2.40 a.m. on Tuesday. All the 102 passengers and the six crew were evacuated immediately using an emergency ladder. “While moving from the taxiway to the apron, AIE IX 452 took a turn 90 metres before it was supposed to take the deviation, resulting in the accident. The back wheels of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft plunged into the drain. Since it happened outside the runway, no other flight operations were affected. The incident has been reported to the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA),” an airport spokesperson said.
The air carrier refused to blame the pilot and said the primary investigation “points towards stormy weather and navigation difficulty due to poor visibility due to heavy rain which calls for a collective responsibility.” “The landing was safe and the aircraft reached minimum steady flight speed. The mishap happened while entering the bay from the taxiway during heavy rain. We’ve reported the matter to the DGCA which has begun a probe into the incident. Since our primary probe clears the pilot, further action will be taken only on the direction of the DGCA,” said Mr P.G. Prageesh, chief of corporation communications, Air India Express. The passengers were put to more difficulty with the door of the rear cargo getting stuck and the airline staff failing to take out the luggage. The spokesperson said the air-carrier made arrangements to deliver the luggage at the houses of the passengers at its own cost.
“Most of the passengers were those who could not get tickets to reach home on Thiruvonam and had opted for the next available flight. We were ready to deboard when the flight slowed down and moving to the taxibay. Suddenly there was a sudden jerking with a huge sound. Since it was raining heavily, we could not see what was happening outside. We’re all safe though a few light panels got damaged and fell apart,” said Sheejan Tiruvalla, a passenger. The efforts to shift the aircraft to the airport hanger got underway by 2 p.m. “We’ve requested the CIAL to provide the service of its DART (Damaged Aircraft Recovery Team) and the work is expected to take eight hours,” the airline spokesperson said.
