Two injured as Gulf Air flight skids off runway in India

A Gulf Air passenger plane lies on the ground after it skidded off the runway at Kochi International Airport in Kochi on Monday

Dubai: Two people were injured after a Gulf Air flight with 137 passengers and six crew members on board, skidded off the runway on Monday at India’s Cochin International Airport.

In a statement, the Bahraini national carrier said rainy weather conditions were suspected to be the cause of the incident.

“The aircraft was approved for landing and the cause will not be able to be confirmed until a full investigation has been completed,” the carrier said, adding that the 18-month-old aircraft — an Airbus A320 — suffered a “nose gear collapse” during the skid while landing in the early hours of Monday.

Gulf Air GF270 was carrying eight Saudis, a Bahraini, a UK citizen and 127 Indians.

“The emergency chute was deployed and all passengers were evacuated and transferred to the airport terminal immediately by shuttle bus,” the carrier said in the statement.

Minor injuries

It added that two passengers were treated for minor injuries in the terminal building with one passenger, an Indian national, taken to Kochi’s Little Flower Hospital Angamaly for further treatment.

“His condition is not critical,” Gulf Air said.

The carrier said it has deployed a team, comprising of officials from care and support, engineering and safety, legal and insurance besides two representatives from Bahrain CAA to coordinate with Indian authorities in the investigation and recovery of the aircraft.

Indian media, quoting Cochin International Airport Managing Director V. J. Kurien, as saying that the pilot had not asked for emergency landing and claimed that he could clearly see the runway when he was six nautical miles away from the airport.

Heavy rains

“Heavy rains and winds lashed the area and the pilot could not see the runway when the flight was just above 532 meters, which is below the decision making height after which the only option was to land,” Kurien was quoted as saying by the Indian new agencies.