IAF aircraft overshoots runway at Mumbai airport

IAF aircraft overshot the main runway while departing from the Mumbai airport on Tuesday night  

Due to the incident, aircraft movement was diverted to the secondary runway

An Anotov 32 transport aircraft belonging to the Indian Air Force (IAF) overshot the main runway of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport late on Tuesday night.

The runway excursion by the IAF aircraft that took place at 11.39 p.m. led to closure of the main runway. The aircraft was on it's way to Yelhanka Air Force Base in Bengaluru and the incident took place at the time of takeoff.

Efforts are underway to move the aircraft from the unpaved surface and the same was expected to be accomplished soon, officials said. Though the incident took place at night, efforts to move the aircraft only began after daybreak.

"The aircraft had abandoned take off view a technical issue and overshot the runway. The aircraft and crew is safe. A recovery team has arrived Mumbai and the aircraft will be cleared shortly," Commander Mehul Karnik, chief public relations officer, Indian Navy said.

Officials said that as per Standard Operating Procedure, the crew decided to abort takeoff as certain parameters for flying did not match after the aircraft started rolling down the runway.

A Mumbai International Airport Ltd spokesperson informed that the incident had no effect on flight operations at the airport. "Though the main runway has been closed since, the secondary runway has been put to use," the spokesperson said.