Surat: Over 160 passengers had a close shave after a Sharjah-Surat flight of the Air India Express they were on board crashed with a parked truck soon after landing on the runway at the Surat International Airport, sources said. While the passengers escaped unscathed, a wing of the plane was damaged in the incident.
An official said that the incident took place at around 11:15 pm on March 13 Wednesday night. It is learnt that the 180-seater Air India Express aircraft made a normal landing at the airport.
After landing, the flight was going to the apron area when it collided with a truck parked on the side of the runway, an official said. The passengers were not injured in the accident, but the plane's wing was damaged, he added.
According to information received from Airport Authority officials, there were more than 160 passengers on board the plane.
A complete report of the incident has been prepared and submitted by the airport authorities to the Director General of Civil Aviation. The plane has been grounded for now, the official said adding the permission for flight operation will be given after investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Official sources of the airport have revealed that the process of constructing a parallel taxi track at Surat International Airport is going on in full swing for which trucks are being used to transporting the material. On Wednesday, the driver left the truck on the side of the runway which is believed to have led to the mishap.
Pertinently, on February 28, a flight got stuck on the runway at the airport which led to the disruption in the operation of two other flights.
The work of parallel taxi track has been going on for about five years. A parallel taxi track has been built towards Vesu, but permission for its use has not been granted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation yet at the airport. In May 2021, the Director of Surat Airport had issued notice to the construction company to expedite the work, but the PTT work has not been completed yet.
