On friday night, An Air India Express Boeing Co. 737 operating as Flight 1344 arriving from Dubai with 190 on board skidded off the runway in Kerala's Kozhikode and broke into pieces after touching down with a tail wind and broke apart while attempting to land, killing at least 18 and injuring more than 100, some of them in critical condition.
In the midst of the disaster, reports have been emerging that experts had warned that Kozhikode's tabletop runway was unsafe for landing, nearly a decade ago.
The Kozhikode airport has a tabletop runway, one of those located on the top of a plateau or hill with one or both ends adjacent to a steep precipice which drops into a deep gorge.
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Air Safety expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan had reportedly detailed in a report around nine years ago that Calicut (now Kozhikode) airport was not safe for landings.
"The runway has a steep downslope, no safety area. They were warned nine years back and given proof but they continued to operate and declared the airport safe," Captain Ranganathan said, claiming he had predicted a disaster in 2020 in some airfields and Kozhikode was among them.
"If there are casualties, then it is murder, a criminal offence," he added.
"There are 200-feet deep gorges on both sides of the tarmac. It is a very steep downslope. Airlines have been operating blindly there," said Captain Ranganathan.