From deadly crashes to runway mishaps: A timeline of air accidents in India

While the Kozhikode plane crash is one of the deadliest in a decade in India, there have been a number of mishaps and runway accidents across the country in the past year

At least 18 people were killed and scores injured when an Air India Express flight from Dubai with 191 on board overshot the tabletop runway while landing at Kerala's Kozhikode airport on Friday. The plane fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two. The pilot-in-command, Captain Deepak Sathe, and his co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar, were among the 18 reported dead as of the time of publishing of this report.

While the crash is one of the deadliest in India in a decade, the country has seen a number of mishaps and runway accidents in the past year, besides a few deadly ones previously. 

Here is a timeline of accidents in the past year 

June 2020: Operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) were suspended for nearly four hours after FedEx flight 5033, arriving from Bengaluru, veered off the runway amid heavy rains triggered by Cyclone Nisarga.

Feb 2020: Over 100 passengers and crew of GoAir flight G8 802 from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru had to be evacuated at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, after the right engine of the aircraft caught fire during take-off after a bird-hit.

Feb 2020: Air India aircraft’s fuselage was damaged when its pilot decided to immediately lift the plane to avoid hitting a person and a jeep that had suddenly come on the Pune airport runway during takeoff. 

Search and rescue operations have been completed and all the injured have been sent to various hospitals in Kerala.

Dec 2019: A GoAir plane, operating a Pune-Delhi flight, returned to Pune airport 20 minutes after takoff after a bird-hit. The aircraft was carrying 172 passengers. 

Dec 2019: IndiGo’s A320neo aircraft flying from Udaipur to Bangalore was turned back from the runway after the air traffic control (ATC) spotted a spark and smoke in the tailpipe of the plane.

Dec 2019: A major accident was averted even as the SpiceJet flight SG 3568, which took off from Surat, failed to deploy the nose gear at Goa’s Dabolim International Airport. The runway controller immediately alerted the ATC tower, which informed the incoming aircraft to abort the landing and make a second attempt. 

Nov 2019: A GoAir aircraft from Nagpur, veered off the runway at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru due to bad weather conditions. DGCA suspended pilots for landing the aircraft even as they lost the “visual reference” 50 feet before touchdown.

August 2019: A New Delhi-bound IndiGo flight failed to take off from Nagpur airport due to a “technical fault”. Flight 6E 636 from Nagpur to Delhi returned to the taxiway from the runway after the pilot was alerted about the serious error in the aircraft. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari was among the 159 passengers on board.

Two investigation teams of professionals from Air India, Airports Authority of India & AAIB reached Kozhikode.

July 2019: Air India Express flight from Dubai veered off the taxiway after landing at the Mangalore International Airport. The Boeing 737 got stuck in the soft ground near the taxiway and all passengers and crew on board were safely deboarded.

July 2019: A SpiceJet domestic flight overshot the runway while landing at the Surat International Airport due to heavy rains and poor visibility. 

July 2019: Air India Express flight from Saudi Arabia suffers a "tail tip", the rear part of the plane touched the surface while landing at the Kozhikode airport in Kerala. 

May 2019: A major mishap was averted at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport when an Indian Air Force aircraft overshot the main runway, resulting in the runway shutting down for 16 hours. 
 

April 2019: SpiceJet aircraft skids off the runway on landing at the regional Shirdi airport, leading to halting of operations. The aircraft touched down some 30-40 meters away from the landing spot and veered off the runway. 

Some of the major plane crashes in India in the past 

 May 2010:  Air India Express Flight 812, a Boeing 737-800, flying on the Dubai-Mangalore route overshot the runway on landing at the Mangalore International Airport killing 158 passengers on board. 

July 2000: Alliance Air Flight 7412 crashed in a residential estate of Patna after the pilot lost control of the aircraft and stalled. Casualty included 55 people aboard, along with 5 on the ground.

November 1996: Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763 collided mid-air with Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, all 349 people on board both flights were killed, making it the deadliest mid-air collision in history. It is also known as the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision.

Wreckage is seen after following the crash of an airplane which took off from Las Vegas on Sunday, in Ocampo, Coahuila state, Mexico on May 6 | Photo: Reuters

April 1993: Indian Airlines Flight 491 crashes into a truck at the end of the runway while taking off from Aurangabad due to pilot error and the failure of the aviation administration to control highway traffic. 55 people died.

July 1991: Indian Airlines Flight 257 crashed on a descent into Imphal due to pilot error killing all 69 occupants.

Feb 1990: Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashed on its final approach to Bangalore airport, killing 92 people. The cause was pilot error.

Nepalese rescuers work after a passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: PTI/AP

June 1982: Air India Flight 403 crashed at the Sahar International Airport in Mumbai due to bad weather. Two crew members and 15 passengers lost their lives. 

Jan 1978: Air India Flight 855 crashed off the coast of Bandra after the captain became spatially disoriented following the failure of one of the flight instruments in the cockpit. All 213 aboard were killed.