Nepal plane crash highlights risks of table-top runways; India has 5 such airports
India has five airports with table-top runways: Shimla, Calicut, Mangalore, Lengpui (Mizoram), and Pakyong (Sikkim). Both Calicut and Mangalore airports have experienced major crashes in the past.
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FollowA tragic plane crash in Nepal that claimed as many as 18 lives has once again brought attention to the dangers linked with table-top runways, which have been the sites of several plane accidents globally. Table-top runways are elevated above the surrounding terrain, creating steep drops on one or more sides. This elevation leaves pilots with little margin for error, as overshooting the runway can result in the plane plummeting down the slope.
India has five airports with table-top runways: Shimla, Calicut, Mangalore, Lengpui (Mizoram), and Pakyong (Sikkim). Both Calicut and Mangalore airports have experienced major crashes in the past. On May 22, 2010, Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai to Mangaluru crashed on landing, killing 158 people, including six crew members.
Saurya Airlines aircraft crashes in Kathmandu: Revisiting history of fatal plane crashes in Nepal
Ten years later, on August 7, 2020, another table-top runway in India became the site of a tragedy. An Air India Express flight from Dubai to Kozhikode, part of the Vande Bharat mission to repatriate Indians stranded by the COVID-19 pandemic, skidded off the runway and crashed. The accident claimed 19 lives, including both pilots, but 169 passengers survived.
Civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) periodically reviews table-top airports to ensure passenger safety. In 2022, a DGCA official said that these reviews aim to prevent unforeseen incidents and make landings at these challenging airports safer.
Table-top runways have also been the sites of crashes outside India. For instance, Madeira airport in Portugal witnessed a deadly accident in 1977 when an Air Portugal Flight 425 overshot the runway and crashed onto a beach, killing 131 people.
Nepal, with a poor air travel safety record, has also seen crashes on table-top runways. On May 27, 2017, a cargo plane crashed at Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Solukhumbu, another airport with such a runway.
In the recent crash in Nepal, a Bombardier CRJ 200 flight skidded off the runway at Tribhuvan Airport in Kathmandu and burst into flames. The airport, located atop a plateau surrounded by deep gorges and valleys, is considered one of the riskiest to land at.
It was also the site of a devastating crash in 1992 when a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed, killing 167 people. The Saurya Airlines flight involved in the latest crash was en route to Pokhara and had crew and technical staff on board.
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