The tragedy at Kerala's Kozhikode International airport on Friday night involving Air India Express flight from Dubai which overshot the airport runway while landing and fell, leading to the death of passengers including two pilots while leaving several others injured is truly heart-wrenching. It was indeed a tragic day for Kerala. Even before the people coming to terms with landslide tragedy at Munnar where more than 20 people were killed then came the accident at Kozhikode airport. Being a table top airport carved out of a hill, landings have carried their own inherent risks. The only saving grace in this otherwise heart-rending tragedy is that the ill-fated flight didn't catch fire. It must be noted here that an aviation safety report in 2011 had already flagged the inadequate safety at the end of the runway of the Kozhikode airport. The report had pointed out the airport had 90-metre safety area at the end of runway which should be at least 200 metres.
Chandan Kumar Nath,
Sorbhog, Barpeta