KOCHI: Over 100 passengers of the Abu Dhabi-Kochi Air India Express flight Boeing 737-800 had a close shave after the airline skidded off the taxiway and the wheels got struck in a nearby drain at the Cochin International Airport here, forcing emergency evacuation of the passengers.
No one was injured in the incident, said airline officials.
According to airline officials, due to the heavy rain at about 2.40 am, the wheels of the aircraft coming from Abu Dhabi with 102 passengers got struck in the rain storm water drain on the side of the taxiway opposite the international terminal after the plane skidded off the taxiway while entering the bay from the taxiway at the airport.
The aircraft arrived at Kochi from Abu Dhabi also had 6 crew on-board. All passengers and crew exited from the doors by normal step ladder and there were no injuries to passengers or crew, they said.
It is suspected that the aircraft took a turn at least 90 meters ahead of the marked spot at the taxiway. Since the incident occurred well ahead of the runway, no other flight service was affected, said airport officials.Â
The airport officials also informed the incident to the Director General of Civil Aviation and the airport authorities offered the service of aircraft recovery team to remove the aircraft from the accident site. An internal probe will also be conducted to know the cause of the accident.