IAF aircraft overshoots main runway at Mumbai airport, flights movement affected

An Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft overshot the main runway while departing from the Mumbai airport on Tuesday night, an official said.

Due to the incident, aircraft movement was diverted to the secondary runway, the official of the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said on Wednesday. 

"We confirm that an Air Force aircraft departing from the Mumbai airport had runway excursion at 11.39 pm on Tuesday," the official said.

Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft AN-32 was departing for Yelahanka Air Force near Bengaluru, Karnataka. No injuries reported. Runway 27 at Mumbai Airport which it overran isn't available for operations https://t.co/71isOmOXmR

— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2019

A Defence spokesperson said the aircraft had abandoned take off in view of a technical issue and overshot the runway.

The aircraft and crew is safe. A recovery team has arrived in Mumbai and the aircraft will be cleared shortly, the spokesperson added.

The city-based Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, the country's second busiest airport after New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, has two crossing runways -- 09x27 (the main runway) and 14x32 (the secondary runway) which together handle a little over 1,000 arrivals and departures per day.

A large part of the operations is carried out from the main runway.