Runway damage at Kolkata disrupts flights

Kolkata: Flight operations at the airport were disrupted for 90 minutes on Sunday afternoon after the main runway suffered damage when an aircraft of a private airline made a sharp turn towards the taxiing bay.
The incident took place between 11.30 am and 11.45 am. “The aircraft’s wheel peeled off a portion of the concrete of the runway,” said airport director V.K. Monga. “The main runway had to be closed for emergency repair work. The secondary runway was also out of bounds, since it is being strengthened.”
Officials said a 10-ft-long, four-ft-wide and three-inch-deep crater was formed due to the concrete peeling off. The pilot of an aircraft that landed at the airport spotted the damage and informed the authorities. They immediately stopped operations on the runway. The runway was closed from 11.50 am to 1.20 pm. One of the airport officials observed that an aircraft that had landed probably inflicted the runway damage. “The plane was moving at a high speed while entering the taxiing bay from the runway. The pilot took a sharp turn without slowing down, which led to the concrete coming off. This does not happen frequently,” he explained.
06/11/06 The Telegraph

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