Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri offered "heartfelt condolences" to the families of the 18 people who died after an Air India Express flight carrying 184 people skidded off the tabletop runway at Kerala's Kozhikode airport amid heavy rain.
Addressing the media after visiting the crash site, Mr Puri also announced a "small gesture" of Rs 10 lakh compensation to families of those killed, Rs 2 lakh for those seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries.
The minister praised emergency personnel and locals working at the crash site, thanking them for their help in rescuing passengers and crew members and dealing with the immediate aftermath of this traumatic and tragic incident.
"My heart goes out to the families and friends of the 18 people who lost their lives in the air accident involving @FlyWithIX flight IX-1344 in Kozhikode last evening, and (I) offer my heartfelt condolences," Mr Puri, who reached the city Saturday afternoon, tweeted.
My heart goes out to the families & friends of the 18 people who lost their lives in the air accident involving @FlyWithIX Flight IX-1344 in Kozhikode last evening & offer my heartfelt condolences.
Reasons for the mishap are being investigated. pic.twitter.com/awEGpU9EmK
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 8, 2020An inquiry has been ordered into the accident, the minister added. Earlier today the black box - data and cockpit voice recorders - were recovered from the crash site. These will be critical in helping investigators understand what happened to flight IX-1344.
Both Mr Puri and cabinet colleague V Muraleedharan, the junior Foreign Minister, have played down the role of the Kozhikode runway in the crash.
The airport has a tabletop runway, which is built on top of a plateau or hill, with one or both ends adjacent to a steep elevation that drops into a gorge. Such an airport presents pilots with a serious challenge when landing. Conditions at the time of flight IX-1344's landing - heavy monsoon rain made the runway's surface slick - were an additional challenge.
"The aircraft was being captained and operated by one of our most experienced and distinguished commanders - Deepak Sathe. In fact, he had landed on this airfield as many as 27 times, including this year," Mr Puri said.
Wing Commander Sathe was a decorated former Air Force fighter pilot before moving to commercial aviation with Air India and Air India Express. Co-pilot, Captain Akhilesh Kumar, got married just last year.
At least 18 people were killed and 127 others injured after the crash at Kerala's Kozhikode airport
Mr Muraleedharan told NDTV that around 100 flights had landed on the same runway, without incident, since Vande Bharat Mission flight ops were started in May to bring back Indians stranded abroad by the coronavirus lockdown.
"I was briefed by the airport authorities that there was heavy rain and the first landing attempt was unsuccessful. When it landed in the second attempt the aircraft skid towards the left and it crashed into the side and broke into pieces," he explained.
Fortunately, an even greater disaster was avoided because the crashed plane did not catch fire - a pointed made by Mr Puri. "It was fortunate that unlike Mangaluru, where there was a fire, timely action (was taken to) prevent that in this case," he said.
In 2010 another Air India Express flight crashed at Karnataka's Mangaluru International Airport in similar circumstances, killing 158 people.
Flight IX-1344, a Vande Bharat Mission flight repatriating Indians stranded abroad due to the lockdown, had 184 people, including cabin crew, on board as it flew in from Dubai.
Amid heavy monsoon rain the flight circled the Kozhikode airport and made two attempts to land. On its final attempt the plane skidded of the rain-soaked surface, overshot the tabletop runway and hurtled down a valley at 7.41 PM.
Concerns had been raised over the condition of the runway at the Kozhikode airport, with an aviation expert flagging it in a 2011 report that said: "the runway has a steep downslope (and) no safety area".
Helplines: Air India Express - 1800 2222 71, Airport Control Room - 0483 2719493, Malappuram Collectorate - 0483 2736320, Kozhikode Collectorate - 0495 2376901
