Air India Express Flight 1344 was a scheduled international flight operated by a Boeing 737-800 on 7 August 2020 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Kozhikode, India, landing at Calicut International Airport. The flight was part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indian nationals stranded due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The flight crew aborted two landing attempts because of heavy rain and tailwind. On the third landing attempt, the aircraft touched down on runway 10, but skidded off the end of the tabletop runway and slid down a 9–10.5 m (30–35 ft) slope, killing 19 passengers and both pilots. The 4 cabin crew members and 165 passengers survived, and 110 people were injured. This was the second fatal accident involving Air India Express, after Flight 812 in 2010.
Calicut International Airport in Karipur, Malappuram, is considered one of the most dangerous airports in India, according to India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It has a tabletop runway, that is a runway located on the top of a plateau or hill with one or both ends adjacent to a steep precipice which drops into a gorge. The DGCA designated Calicut Airport as a "critical airfield", which means that only the captain (and not the first officer) can perform takeoffs and landings there. The Airports Authority of India says that the airport is licensed for use in all weather conditions under instrument flight rules, but that the pilots operating night flights to and from Calicut Airport should have sufficient flying hours and previous daytime experience of operating at Calicut.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a member of a safety advisory committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, said in 2011 that Calicut Airport is "unsafe". He recommended that Calicut Airport not be used for landing during wet weather. He observed that the airport had a tabletop runway with a steep down-slope from one-third of the runway 10 and inadequate "buffer zones", referring to the runway end safety areas (RESA) at both ends of the runway. Instead of the recommended 240 m (790 ft) safety area, it had only 90 m (300 ft). The buffer space on each side of runway 10 is only 75 metres (246 ft) on each side, whereas the recommended width is 100 m (330 ft). Calicut Airport also lacked an engineered materials arrestor system (EMAS), which could have prevented the accident. He also reported that there were heavy rubber deposits on the runway. Calicut Airport's management ignored several warnings about the dangerous conditions at Calicut Airport, especially during wet conditions. Many international airlines stopped landing wide-body aircraft at Calicut because of the dangerous conditions. Ranganathan said "The warnings were ignored... in my opinion, it is not an accident but a murder. Their own audits have had flagged safety issues".
Conditions at Calicut Airport were investigated in 2019, following a tailstrike during the landing of Air India Express aircraft. The investigation revealed several safety hazards, including multiple cracks in the runways, pools of stagnant water, and excessive rubber deposits. In July 2019, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to the director of Calicut Airport because of these hazards.
The aircraft involved a Boeing 737-800 with a short-field performance package, registered as VT-AXH, manufacturer's serial number 36323 and line number 2108. The aircraft, that first flew on 15 November 2006, was operated by Air India Express and had a tail livery with India Gate on the left and Gateway of India on the right. The crew consisted of experienced Captain Deepak Sathe (59), first officer Akhilesh Kumar (32); and four flight attendants. Sathe had landed successfully at Calicut airport at least 27 times, including more than 10 times in 2020. He had 10,000 hours of flying experience on the Boeing 737, including 6,662 as commander. He was a former Indian Air Force pilot.
The aircraft departed stand E6 and took off from runway 30R at Dubai International Airport on 7 August 2020, at 14:14 GST (7 August 2020, 10:14 UTC) and was scheduled to arrive at Calicut International Airport at 19:40 IST (7 August 2020, 14:10 UTC), covering a distance of 2,673 kilometres (1,661 miles). It was a repatriation flight for people who had been stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic, under the Vande Bharat Mission.
The aircraft reached the airport on schedule. The aircraft made two landing approaches, first on Runway 28 which was aborted due to tailwind and then from the opposite direction on Runway 10. At around 19:37 IST (14:07 UTC), they were given clearance to land on runway 10. Due to the monsoon and floods in Kerala at the time, inclement weather conditions reduced visibility at the time of landing to 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Runway 28 was operational and in the first landing attempt, the pilot could not see the runway thus requested for runway 10. On the second attempt on 2,860 m (9,380 ft) runway 10, the aircraft touched down near taxiway ''C'', which is approximately 1,000 m (3,300 ft) beyond the runway threshold. The aircraft failed to stop before the end of the tabletop runway and plunged 9–10.5 m (30–35 ft) into a gorge, splitting the fuselage into two sections upon impact. The accident site was around 3 km (9,800 ft) from the airport terminal. No post-crash fire was reported. It was suggested that the crew shut off the engines on landing, which may have saved lives by preventing a fire. According to a CISF officer, the aircraft did not slide into the gorge. It took off from the cliff and then collapsed.
The accident was the second fatal accident of Air India Express and was similar to Air India Express Flight 812 which also overran the runway 10 years earlier at Mangalore International Airport, killing 158 people on board.
A total of 184 passengers, 4 cabin crew and 2 cockpit crew were on board, all Indian. Seventeen people died at the scene of the accident, including both pilots, with four more later dying of their injuries. and more than one hundred people were injured. The chief minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, announced a state funeral for late Wing commander Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe in Mumbai.
The Government of India announced an interim compensation of ₹10 lakh (equivalent to ₹12 lakh or US$12,000 in 2023) for the families of the deceased above the age of 12 years, ₹5 lakh (equivalent to ₹5.9 lakh or US$6,100 in 2023) for below the age of 12 years, ₹2 lakh (equivalent to ₹2.4 lakh or US$2,400 in 2023) for seriously injured, and ₹50,000 (equivalent to ₹59,000 or US$610 in 2023) for those who sustained minor injuries. It was also announced that the medical expenses of the injured would be borne by the state government. The Government of Kerala announced an additional compensation of ₹10 lakh (equivalent to ₹12 lakh or US$12,000 in 2023) to the next of kin of every person killed in the crash.
Air India Express completed the disbursement of interim compensation to all passengers and next of kin of the deceased passengers soon after the accident.
Interim compensation of ₹10 lakh (equivalent to ₹12 lakh or US$12,000 in 2023) was paid to the next of kin of 15 deceased passengers who were above the age of 12, ₹5 lakh (equivalent to ₹5.9 lakh or US$6,100 in 2023) to the next of kin of 4 deceased passengers who were below the age of 12, ₹2 lakh (equivalent to ₹2.4 lakh or US$2,400 in 2023) each to 92 passengers and 2 crew members who were critically injured, and ₹50,000 (equivalent to ₹59,000 or US$610 in 2023) each to 73 passengers who suffered minor injuries.
Following the incident, local people from the surrounding Karipur village rushed to the accident site to rescue trapped victims from the aircraft, followed by 40 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel who were guarding the perimeter of the airport, a quick reaction team and the Chief Airport Security Officer. Family members of the CISF personnel living nearby also joined. Police and firefighters were also deployed for the initial rescue operations. All passengers were evacuated in about three hours and taken to various hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. Emergency response team, GO Team and special assistance team of Air India (officially known as 'Angels of Air India') from Kochi, Mumbai and Delhi were sent to the accident site. Three CISF officers were awarded Director General commendation disc for their rescue efforts after the mishap. The accident is predicted to cost the insurers and their reinsurers ₹375 crore (equivalent to ₹441 crore or US$46 million in 2023), which includes aircraft or hull and liability for third party and passengers. It is around 90 per cent of the insured value and Air India will recover this amount since the aircraft has been totally damaged. The insurer is an Indian insurance consortium led by New India Assurance. Claim settlement survey has already started. The airline had engaged a US-based firm, Kenyon International, to recover the baggage along with Angels of Air India.