Narrow shave for passengers as plane overshoots Shirdi runway

Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), May 21 (IANS) A major disaster was averted when an Alliance Air plane, with around 70 passengers, overshot the runway while landing at the Shirdi Airport here on Monday evening but the pilots managed to bring it to a halt, official sources said.

No injuries were reported amongd the passengers on board the ATR aircraft.

The incident happened around 5.30 pm when the Mumbai-Shirdi flight of Alliance Air, the regional carrier of Air India, was scheduled to land at the recently commissioned airport of this world-renowned pilgrim centre.

As the flight approached for landing, it overshot the runway by at least 50 metres before grinding to a halt, even as emergency services were pressed into action.

All the passengers were evacuated safely from the aircraft and arrangements were underway to tow it back to the runway for checks and repairs.

The incident is being probed by both Air India and aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, an official said.

Last year, on October 1, President Ram Nath Kovind had inaugurated the Shirdi Airport as part of the year-long centenary celebrations of the Shri Saibaba Samadhi, in honour of the 20th century saint Saibaba, revered by all communities.

The airport, constructed at a cost of around Rs 350 crore by Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation, has a 2,500-metre-long runway capable of handling only single narrow-bodied aircraft.

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