New Delhi: This is what seems to have happened early on Saturday morning at the Mangalore airport as the Air India flight from Dubai was landing. This has been pieced together from some information trickling in. Complete facts will be known only after an inquiry.
- The landing approach was normal and the pilot reported to ATC 10 miles from touchdown
- The AI Express plane was given landing clearance 4 miles from touchdown
- ATC saw the plane approaching and the entry to the runway was normal
- The pilot missed the landing mark by 2,000 feet, say sources
- There was a slight drizzle at the time, but the runway was not wet, and visibility was good
- The trouble began when the aircraft landed beyond touchdown zone and overshot the runway. It is a table top runway with a cliff just beyond
- The pilot tried to stop by hard-braking, the tyres burst
- Survivors report hearing a loud noise, possibly a tyre burst
- The plane veered and hit the concrete base of an antenna at the edge of the runway. A wing broke
- The plane moved towards the cliff, split on the edge and fell into the valley
- Survivors were thrown out at the edge of the tarmac and some got stuck in overhead cables