A Learjet 45 aircraft, registered as VT-DBL and owned by VSR Ventures, encountered a runway mishap at the Mumbai airport as it was landing amidst heavy rainfall. The incident led to the hospitalization of all eight individuals on board, consisting of six passengers and two crew members.
The mishap occurred shortly after 1700 hours, prompting the temporary closure of both runways at the airport. One of the runways resumed operations around 1847 hours, according to officials.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a statement confirming that the Learjet 45 aircraft skidded off the runway during its landing. The aircraft was arriving from Vishakhapatnam when the incident transpired. A CCTV video capturing the incident shows the aircraft making a significant impact upon touching the ground, accompanied by white smoke surrounding the site after the crash landing.
The DGCA statement noted, “The aircraft was involved in a runway excursion (veer off) while landing on runway 27 at the Mumbai airport. There were six passengers and two crew members onboard.” It also reported that the visibility at the time of the incident was 700 meters due to heavy rainfall.
Officials from the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) confirmed that the eight individuals injured in the incident have been admitted to hospitals for medical care.
In a statement, Mumbai airport clarified that the occurrence transpired at approximately 1708 hours and added, “There are no casualties. CSMIA’s (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport) airside team is on-ground to assist with the clearance on-site.”
One of the officials stated that runway 27 was reopened for operations after receiving clearance from the DGCA and Air Traffic Control (ATC) at 1847 hours.
