While it is too early to pinpoint the reason behind the Air India Express crash in Kozhikode, industry experts are quick to point out that the airport was marked as a high risk one.
The risks are similar to the Mangalore airport, where the 2010 mishap happened, again involving an Air India Express flight, leaving 158 people dead.
A year after the 2010 mishap, industry regulator DGCA had listed Kozhikode as one of the 11 airports "that posed a safety risk to flight operations in the country."
Apart from Kozhikode, airports in Leh, Kullu, Shimla, Port Blair, Agartala, Lengpui, Mangalore, Jammu, Patna and Latur were named in the list.
A year later, an RTI application filed by the Mint publication found that six of these 11 airports continued to be dangerous.
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In July 2019, there was a scare involving another Air India Express flight in Kozhikode, when flight's tail touched the runway while landing. Fortunately, the aircraft didn't suffer damage and passengers were safe.
Kozhikode airport, like the one in Mangalore, is a table-top airport situated on a hill. Flying into these airports requires extra manoeuvring from pilots. That becomes even more difficult when weather is harsh, as it was in Kozhikode which has been receiving heavy rainfall.
Expert speak
Says Shakti Lumba, an aviation veteran and former Executive Director, Airline Operations (Alliance Air), and Vice President, Ops (IndiGo): "These are early days. But a combination of wet runway and the runway surface condition would have been a causative factor. If the flight landed on the runway with down slope and there was water collected and rubber deposits (which happen when aircraft land and their tires leave rubber on the runway), they all add up."
He added that the following variables are involved:
1) where the plane touched down.
2) speed of touchdown.
3) surface wind direction and speed.
4) runway surface condition.
5) braking action.
6) did the aircraft aquaplane, which happens when water builds between the wheels and the runway surface, leading to loss of traction and the plane becomes uncontrollable.
7) Runway Gradient. A gradient is the amount of change in runway height over its length.
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