Karipur airport set to improve safety measures a year after deadly crash

Karipur flight crash
The plane coming from Dubai had overshot the runway at the airport and later broke into pieces on August 7, 2020, killing 21 people.

Karipur: The Calicut International Airport has belatedly decided to implement more safety measures, a year after the deadly crash involving an Air India Express flight.

"Necessary action will be initiated after studying the final investigation report on the aircraft crash that killed 21 people on August 7 last year," airport director R Mahalingam told Manorama.

Recommendations regarding safety will be immediately implemented, he said, adding the drawbacks will be re-examined.

The final investigation report on the air crash was released on Saturday by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).

The probable cause of the accident was non-adherence to the standard operating procedure by the pilot flying the aircraft but the role of systemic failures as a contributory factor cannot be overlooked, the 257-page report stated.

The plane coming from Dubai had overshot the runway at the airport and later broke into pieces. There were 184 passengers and six crew members onboard the ill-fated aircraft.

The director said necessary steps to implement the recommendations of the probe panel will be made based on the instructions of the Airport Authority's central unit.

ATC fed wrong info on wind speed

The faulty wind sensor had also contributed to the accident.

The wind sensor was not properly installed, and it led to providing wrong information to the pilots on tail winds, the report further said.

The real tail wind speed at Runway 10 was almost double than the information the Air Traffic Control had conveyed to the aircraft.

According to norms, the wind sensor should be set up 10 metre above the runway. At Karipur, the location of the airport, it was set at 3.5 metre, and that too, at a distance from the runway. This also contributed to providing the incorrect wind speed to the incoming plane from Dubai.

The sensor developed glitches even after the crash. The Central weather department, mandated to install the sensor, is yet to complete setting it up at a height of 10 metres.

Ready for large aircraft

The service of large aircraft has been barred at the airport since the crash.

The Directorate of Civil Aviation will take a call on operating such aircraft from the airport, Mahalingam said while requesting people's representatives support in resuming their service.

The Calicut International Airport is also known as the Karipur Airport.

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