Turkish Airways plane goes off runway in Mumbai during heavy rainfall

Turkish Airways plane goes off runway in Mumbai during heavy rainfall

2011-09-03 02:59:06 GMT+7 (ICT)

MUMBAI (BNO NEWS) -- An Airbus 340 belonging to Turkish Airlines skidded off the runway at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai on early Friday morning, the airline said. Heavy rainfall is being blamed as the cause.

The incident happened at around 4.15 a.m. local time when Turkish Airlines flight 720 from Istanbul was attempting to land on the main runway of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, which is South Asia's second busiest airport in term of passenger traffic.

Officials said the Airbus 340, which was carrying 104 passengers and 11 crew members, was landing during heavy rainfall, causing it to skid off the runway. "The passengers and the crew were immediately evacuated and no injuries [were] reported," a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement.

Turkish Airlines blamed the heavy rainfall as the cause of the incident, but said an investigation is underway. "The necessary analysis and research is being done in collaboration with the local civil aviation authorities," the statement said, adding that a new aircraft had been called in to take care of the return flight.

On early Monday morning, Gulf Air flight 270, an Airbus 320, skidded off the runway while attempting to land at Cochin International Airport, which is located about 25 kilometers (16 miles) north of the major port city of Kochi in southwest India. Three people were injured during as a result of the incident, which Gulf Air also blamed on heavy rainfall.

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