'Refrain from making speculative observations': Hardeep Puri to Oppn after Kozhikode crash

In light of criticism from experts and Opposition leaders over plane safety in the backdrop of the deadly Kozhikode plane crash, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri asked commentators to "exercise patience" and refrain from "making speculative observations" bordering on the irresponsible. 

Taking to Twitter on Saturday evening, Puri posted cutouts of tweets by Congress leaders that cornered the government over 'inaction' on reported safety gaps in the Kozhikode airport.

As per a Bloomberg report, authorities ignored at least two recommendations in the past decade to install a safety system on so-called tabletop runways, one of which an Air India Express jet overshot Friday. The runway at Kozhikode, where the crash took place, doesn’t have an adequate safety mechanism, especially in wet conditions with a tailwind, a member of the aviation regulator’s Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council wrote in a letter to top bureaucrats in 2011. 

As recently as 2017, a SpiceJet-operated Bombardier Q-400 plane, with 75 onboard, veered off the same runway and struck the lights at the edge. This incident also happened on a wet runway, according to the final incident report. A year later, airport authorities rejected proposals to implement additional safety measures, citing high operational and maintenance costs, the media report says.

In a series of tweets, Hardeep Singh Puri said politicians have raised queries regarding Kozhikode air accident "without ascertaining facts". He said the aviation regulator DGCA routinely red-flags issues pertaining to excessive rubber deposits, water stagnation, cracks, and other issues and strictly ensures that these are complied with and rectified under all circumstances.

The Minister asserted that an inquiry has been ordered under the Aircraft Act in the Kozhikode accident and pointed that black box of flight has been recovered. Assuring that the findings of this investigation will be made public, Puri emphasised that all the issues were addressed & rectified.

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Kozhikode Air India plane crash

On Friday, Air India's Vande Bharat flight from Dubai failed to land on the table-top runway in Kozhikode's Karipur airport at 7:41 PM amid very heavy rainfall in the area, after two attempts - switching the approach runway for Runway 28 to Runway 10. Due to poor visibility and heavy waterlogging, the plane fell into a 35-feet gorge splitting the plane into two but did not catch fire. There were 191 persons on board including two pilots and 4 cabin crew, as per the Kerala government. The fatalities include two pilots and 16 passengers – with the youngest fatality being a one-year-old boy who succumbed to his injuries.

Kerala CM has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the next of kin of each passenger who died, while Air India too has matched the sum in interim monetary relief. Union Civil Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri, CM Pinarayi Vijayan has visited the crash site. With two deceased testing COVID positive, the CM has announced that all passengers and rescue teams will undergo COVID tests.

Aviation safety expert Captain Ranganathan, who had earlier flagged concerns about Kozhikode airport runway, on Saturday said DGCA should not allow the landing of flights during monsoons on runway 10 at the aerodrome.

"Death due to an accident is something which happens when you don't know but when you knew the danger existed and you were warned about it and you took no action and an accident takes place, then it is definitely murder," Ranganathan told PTI. He said the DGCA should enforce the correct runway code for Kozhikode airport.

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READ | DGCA Should Not Allow Landings At Kozhikode Airport During Monsoons: Aviation Safety Expert