A popular global flight tracker website indicates that the Air India Express plane that skidded on the runway at Kerala's Kozhikode tried to land at least twice at the tabletop airport.
Flightradar24, a Swedish firm that shows real-time commercial flight tracking information on a map, indicated that the Boeing 737 NG that came from Dubai with 190 people on board tried to land twice.
Kozhikode airport is a "tabletop" airport, junior External Affairs Minister V Muraleedharan tweeted. A tabletop runway is a runway on the top of a plateau or hill with one or both ends adjacent to a steep elevation, which drops into a gorge. Such an airport presents a challenging condition for landing.
Eighteen people including both the pilots died in the crash. All on board have been evacuated and at least 92 injured, including 15 in serious condition, have been taken to hospital, authorities said.
There were 174 passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and four cabin crew members on board the aircraft.
The last major plane crash in India was in 2010 when an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 from Dubai to Mangalore overshot the runway and burst into flames. The crash killed 158 people and left eight survivors.
Kerala has been battered by heavy rains in recent days.
Helplines: Air India Express - 1800 2222 71, Airport Control Room - 0483 2719493, Malappuram Collectorate - 0483 2736320, Kozhikode Collectorate - 0495 2376901
Shashi Tharoor's "Told You So" AIIMS Moment; Rajeev Chandrasekhar Responds ''Will Take A Bullock Cart...'': Pune Author Vows To Never Fly With Air India Express, Airline Responds Kerala's Kozhikode Officially Declared India's First UNESCO 'City Of Literature' 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing Ayatollah Khamenei Warns Of "Divine Wrath" If Iran Backs Down Against Israel 9 Arrested For Violence At Kolkata Hospital Where Doctor Was Raped-Murdered Water On Mars: Uncovering All The Locations Water Was Found On Red Planet Huge Participation At Independence Day Celebrations By Army's Spear Corps Akasa Air Flight Makes Emergency Landing In Bhopal For Sick Passenger Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.