This is what seems to have happened early on Saturday morning at the Mangalore airport as the Air India flight from Dubai was landing. This has been pieced together from some information trickling in. Complete facts will be known only after an inquiry.
The landing approach was normal and the pilot reported to ATC 10 miles from touchdown
The AI Express plane was given landing clearance 4 miles from touchdown
ATC saw the plane approaching and the entry to the runway was normal
The pilot missed the landing mark by 2,000 feet, say sources
There was a slight drizzle at the time, but the runway was not wet, and visibility was good
The trouble began when the aircraft landed beyond touchdown zone and overshot the runway. It is a table top runway with a cliff just beyond The pilot tried to stop by hard-braking, the tyres burst
Survivors report hearing a loud noise, possibly a tyre burst
The plane veered and hit the concrete base of an antenna at the edge of the runway. A wing broke
The plane moved towards the cliff, split on the edge and fell into the valley
Survivors were thrown out at the edge of the tarmac and some got stuck in overhead cables
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