Tabletop runways are generally constructed by chopping off the top of a hill, and are often thought of as tricky for landings because of the lack of any margin for overshooting the runway. 
- Plane crash on 8th August at Kozhikode in Kerala involving an Air India Express flight with 190 people on board is the first major accident since the 2010 crash at Mangaluru tabletop airport. The Air India Express-operated Boeing 737-800 aircraft overshot Kozhikode airport’s runway — a tabletop runway like Mangaluru’s — and fell 35 feet down a slope, resulting in the aircraft splitting into two. Kozhikode’s runway is surrounded by deep gorges on both sides.
- Air India Express aircraft at Kozhikode did not catch fire upon crashing, thereby minimising casualties. An official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the aircraft seemed to have touched down at higher than usual speed, giving pilots less time to bring it to a halt at a runway that is shorter than usual.
- In addition to the airports at Kozhikode and Mangaluru, the Lengpui airport in Mizoram, Pakyong airport in Sikkim, and Simla and Kullu in Himachal Pradesh are built on tabletops. Other tabletop airports outside India include Paro in Bhutan and Kathmandu in Nepal.
- In 2010, an Air India Express plane overshot the runway at Mangaluru airport in Karnataka and crashed into a valley before bursting into flames, killing 158 people. Last year, another Air India Express flight from Dubai veered off the runway at Mangaluru and halted in soft ground, causing a scare for 181 passengers on board.
👉Click the link below to see the details about the UPSC –Civils courses offered by Triumph IAS. https://triumphias.com/pages-all-courses.php
👉For Course Inquiry call Rakhi Bisht #7840888102
👉Connect to Vikash Ranjan Sir #8586861046
👉For more such notes, Articles, News & Views Join our Telegram Channel. https://t.me/triumphias
Article Courtesy: IE