Mumbai Airport: A Bombardier Learjet private jet with 8 people onboard crashed landed and skidded off the runway at Mumbai airport on Thursday. The mishap occurred at around 5.04 pm.
The aircraft was carrying 6 passengers and 2 crew members. An official at the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said all 8 people injured in the incident have been hospitalised.
The VSR Aviation Learjet 45 aircraft VT-DBL operating from Vizag-Mumbai skidded off the runway at taxi way WHISKEY after landing due to heavy rains in the city and caught fire.
All operations of the airport were shut down for over an hour after which the runway opened for operations post DGCA and ATC clearance at 6.47 pm.
Fire erupted inside the aircraft after it crashed but no casualties have been reported as of now. No VIPs were onboard.
"VSR Ventures Learjet 45 aircraft VT-DBL operating flight from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai was involved in runway excursion (veer off) while landing on runway 27 at Mumbai airport.
"There were 6 passengers and 2 crew members on board. Visibility was 700m with heavy rain," aviation regulator DGCA confirmed.
"There are no casualties. CSMIA’s airside team is on-ground to assist with the clearance on-site," the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport said in a statement.
According to its website, VSR Aviation is a New Delhi-based company that offers "safe" and "affordable" forms of air travel for corporate travellers and others who need to travel to remote locations.
More about Learjet
Founded in the last 1950s, Learjet is a Canadian-owned aerospace manufacturer. It is one of the first companies to build private, luxury aircraft for civilian and military purposes.
It has been a subsidiary of Canadian Bombardier Aerospace since 1990.
In February 2021, Bombardier announced it discontinue the production of all new Learjet aircraft. The company gave the final delivery of the Learjet aircraft in March 2022.
