A commercial 737 airliner in India crash-landed after overrunning the runway, and split in two on Friday.
Air India Flight 344 had approximately 200 on board when it ran off the runway during landing at Kozhikode Calicut International Airport (also known as Karipur Airport), and reportedly fell 35 feet into a valley where it broke in two.
16 people were killed, including one of the pilots, and at least 123 were injured, the Associated Press reported. Among the injured, 15 were in critical condition.
Videos circulating on social media show what appears to be the aftermath of the wreckage.
videos Emerge from the scene of the plane crash at #Karipur Airport in #Kozhikode, #India
— Dwain Jude D’silva 🇺🇸 (@JudeDwain) August 7, 2020
The fuselage can be seen in two pieces.
BREAKING: Air #India Flight 344 with 200 people on board crash-lands at Kozhikode airport. Casualties unknown pic.twitter.com/Qlb2l35r8x
— AS-Source News (@ASB_Breaking) August 7, 2020
The plane was flying from Dubai to Karipur.
BREAKING – Air India Express plane from Dubai to Kozhikode airport skidded off the runway while landing ripping the plane into half. 184 people and 10 infants are on board.
Reports of 3 dead including the pilot. Several injured. #AirIndia #Dubia #India pic.twitter.com/3XWi8IxY8l
— SV News 🚨 (@SVNewsAlerts) August 7, 2020
The Indian Ministry of Aviation told CNN, “Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by B737 aircraft from Dubai to Calicut overshot runway at Kozhikode at 1941 hrs tonight. No fire reported at the time of landing. There are 174 passengers, 10 Infants , 2 Pilots and 5 cabin Crew on board the aircraft. As per the initial reports rescue operations are on and Passengers are being taken to hospital for medical care.”
Flight tracking data shows that the plane did a go-around to make a second landing attempt. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep S. Puri said the plane “overshot the runway in rainy conditions and went down.”
Judging by ADS-B data it seems the IX1344 did a go around prior to landing. The came back in a figure 8 track for a second attempt.#India #Dubai #AirIndia #Kozhikode #IX1344
[Knish] pic.twitter.com/DYCp7n0FBC— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) August 7, 2020
Video showed a number of passengers taken to the hospital for injuries.
#NewsAlert – The initial reports indicate that a lot of people have been taken to the arrival lounge and they are being treated for injuries: Rajesh Ranjan (DG, CISF) tells @Arunima24. pic.twitter.com/ILGkfLUPFN
— CNNNews18 (@CNNnews18) August 7, 2020
