Kozhikode, India: For years, officials had practiced a jet overflowing the “table-top” runway at Kozhikode airport, but Fazal Puthiyakath, a local resident, was not prepared for the “blood and death” of the real thing.
After an Air India Express plane crashed down a 10-meter (35-foot) bank over the runway, the 32-year-old businessman and his neighbors were on the scene for the first time.
Upon hearing “a blast-like” scream, Mr. Puthiyakath and others ran outside.
“All we could hear were cries all over. People everywhere were covered in blood, some had bruises, some were unconscious,” he told AFP.
The impact was so severe that the Boeing 737 ‘s nose finished from the back half of the jet about 20 meters.
The two pilots were killed but rescuers said if the jet had caught fire the death count would have been much higher.
Kozhikode airport is considered a potential hazard as it has a “table-top” runway at either end, with a steep bank.
“I’ve seen the mock trials from a distance —
the airport authorities are conducting it with a crashed dummy aircraft,” Mr. Puthiyakath said.
