Sri Lankan Plane With 240 On Board Hits Runway Light At Cochin

The SriLankan Airlines flight UL 167 landed at the airport at 3:55 PM but it touched down one meter away from the designated path due to strong crosswinds, sources told news agency PTI. The Airbus aircraft "veered toward the runway edge and caused damage to some ground lights" news agency IANS reported.

According to the airline, the flight en route from Colombo to Cochin landed during an intense rain shower caused by the onset of the monsoon. The aircraft was brought back to the taxi bay and all 228 passengers and 12 crew members on board were safe.

"Due to the ambient conditions, strong winds and heavy rain, the aircraft veered toward the runway edge and caused damage to some ground lights," the airline said in a statement.

"The flight landed safely with no injuries to passengers or crew... There was minor damage to two lights on the runway."

The runway was closed for 50 minutes.

Only one Jet airways flight from Mumbai was diverted due to the incident, PTI reported.