Mangalore Airport (India) - Accidents and Incidents

Accidents and Incidents

Mangalore Airport is located in a region, which receives highest rainfall in India. Minor incidents have been reported from time-to-time during flight landing in the airport in the rainy season, specially overshooting of the runway. This airport was witness to the third deadliest aviation disaster in India. This incident turned out to be a boon in disguise as major safety measures were implemented to improve the safety at the airport. Some of them are, 'distance to go markers' on the runway, the safety zone – the additional space between the runway and the cliff meant to act as outside force to bring aircraft to halt in emergencies – has been improved with addition of gravel and the strengthening of the retaining wall. The major incidents have been listed below.

• On 19 August 1981, Indian Airlines Flight 557, a HAL 748 VT-DXF overshot the 5,783 feet (1,763 m) old runway 27 at Mangalore-Bajpe Airport in wet weather. The aircraft came to a halt just beyond the runway edge. While there were no fatalities, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and was written off. One of the passengers on board was Veerappa Moily, then Finance Minister of Karnataka. An investigation revealed that the pilot had not set the aircraft's flaps to the correct position for landing, and the aircraft had landed long on the runway and at excessive speed. The runway also had a downslope and the aircraft had landed with a tailwind. The aircraft involved was HAL 748 VT-DXF, with manufacturer's serial number 511, it first flew in 1967.

• On 22 May 2010, Air India Express Flight 812, a Boeing 737-800 VT-AXV, flying on the Dubai-Mangalore route, overshot the 8,033 feet (2,448 m) runway number 06/24, killing 158 people including 6 crew on-board; only 8 survived. The aircraft landed and subsequently crashed when it overshot the runway and veered into a steep gorge at the very end. The starboard wing impacted the concrete socket of the Instrument Landing System localiser antenna, breaking it and rendering it unusable, this resulted in delayed or canceled flights during two weeks when the monsoon rains reduced visibility. It took the airport a little under a month to repair and calibrate the ILS and bring it back online.