Survivors of deadly Air India crash describe how plane swayed, nosedived after landing

At least 18 died, including both pilots, and 120 were injured after a Boeing 737 skidded off a wet runway in Kozhikode, Kerala state, and split in two

Air India Express flight IX 1344 from Dubai was part of the Indian government’s coronavirus repatriation flight programme

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Officials at the scene after an Air India Express flight skidded off a runway while landing in Kozhikode, Kerala state, India, killing at least 18 people. Photo: AP

Published: 9:46pm, 8 Aug 2020Updated: 9:59pm, 8 Aug 2020

Seated on the last row of the plane, Muhammed Junaid sensed something was amiss when Air India Express flight IX 1344 from Dubai was jerked around by strong winds as it approached the southern Indian city of Kozhikode late on Friday.

After an aborted attempt, the aircraft swung around and touched down on the runway, said Junaid, who like many others on-board worked in the Middle East but was forced to return home when his salary halved because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But instead of slowing down, Junaid said the two-year-old Boeing 737-800 appeared to pick up speed, overshooting the runway slickened by heavy rains, hurtling down a sharp slope and breaking in two. “All these things happened in 15 seconds,” he said by telephone.

Officials said on Saturday that 18 of the 190 passengers and crew, including both pilots, died and 16 were severely injured, in India’s worst passenger aircraft accident since 2010.

The black box and cockpit voice recorder were recovered from the site on Saturday.

The wreckage of an Air India Express jet at Calicut International Airport in Karipur, Kerala. Photo: AFP

Junaid and several other passengers, seated at the back of the aircraft, walked away from the wreckage at Calicut International Airport near Kozhikode almost unscathed.