Mumbai Airport Mishap: 40 Flights Diverted Due To Learjet Crash, Runway 27 Operations Resume After An Hour

At least 40 flights were diverted after a tragic incident took place in Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Thursday when a private jet crashed and skidded off the runway amid heavy rains in the city.

There were six passengers and two crew members on board when the small aircraft crash landed at around 5.04 pm. All eight on board sustained injuries and have been admitted to a hospital.

Four passengers have been admitted at the Criticare Hospital in Andheri out of which two are in critical condition.

Airport operations affected

All operations at the airport were shut down for over an hour during which 40 flights were diverted to nearby cities and available runways.

Vistara Airlines said five of its flights were diverted and others "are likely to be impacted".

SpiceJet has also notified its passengers that "flights might get affected". Flight operations finally resumed after debris were cleared off runway 27 at 6.47 pm.

The Learjet 45 aircraft VT-DBL belonging to VSR Ventures, was coming from Vishakhapatnam and skidded off the runway while landing at the Mumbai airport, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and CSMIA officials are saying that the aircraft veered off the runway but a CCTV footage of the accident clearly shows that the jet nosedived and crash landed on the runway before coming to a halt.