India / What is a tabletop runway on which Air India Express plane skidded in Calicut?

A tabletop runway is the one which is constructed by chopping off the top of a plateau or a hill. It creates an optical illusion that the runway is stretching along while in reality, the runway gives way to a gorge. In the Calicut incident, the Air India Express flight crashed into a valley after overshooting the tabletop runway.

india.com : Aug 08, 2020, 04:23 PM

Kozhikode: An Air India Express Plane with 191 people on board crashed at the Kozhikode airport on Friday evening after landing, killing the pilot and one passenger. Many people have been rushed to nearby hospitals. Some of their condition was said to be serious.

1. The AIEAXB1344, Boeing 737 (Dubai-Calicut) landed at Runway 10 of the Calicut airport.

2. It has been raining heavily when the plane landed.

3. While the flight could have been diverted because of the bad weather, it was not diverted.

4. The plane landed and then it continued running to the end of the runway.

5. Reports said it must have skidded off as the runway was wet.

6. Calicut airport’s runway is a tabletop runway. Landing at Calicut is tricky. A tabletop runway in the one which is located on the top of a hill. It creates an illusion that the runway is stretching along while in reality, the runway gives way to a gorge. In this case, there was a valley in which the plane fell and broke into two pieces.