Kozhikode Air India plane crash live updates: Black box brought o DGCA lab in Delhi

An Air India Express flight from Dubai trying to land in torrential rain with 190 people on board overshot the tabletop runway at Kozhikode’s Calicut International Airport on Friday and went 35 feet down a slope at 7.41pm, killing at least 17, in a chilling reminder of the 2010 crash at Mangalore’s table-top airport. The aircraft, a Boeing 737, broke in two. The deceased include the flight commander, Deepak V Sathe, and co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar.

"Shocked and pained to learn about the Air India tragic plane accident in Kozhikode, Kerala. On behalf of the Afghan Mission in India, I express my deepest condolences to the dear ones of the victims. Wishing the wounded a speedy recovery and may the souls of the demised RIP!," he tweeted.

The timely intervention of local residents, who rushed to the accident spot at Kozhikode’s Calicut International Airport, saved many lives. As many as 173 persons were admitted to various hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram. The condition of 15 is reportedly serious..

Calicut Airport had last July been served a show-cause notice by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), following a spate of aircraft herring off runway on landing on wet runways. DGCA’s inspection of Calicut had revealed concerns like “excessive rubber deposits”, apart from finding cracks and stagnating water on parts of the runway. It had also pointed out more than permitted slope in certain areas.