Two incidents of dangerous landings being investigated
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NEW DELHI - Two incidents of dangerous landings by commercial planes carrying more than 200 passengers were being investigated, Indian officials said Monday.
A state-owned Air India Express flight skidded off the runway and ended up in a muddy grass patch in the southern city of Mangalore late on Sunday.
The flight, carrying 183 passengers from Dubai, remained stuck in the mud for hours before being removed using recovery vehicles.
No one onboard the plane was injured, an official said.
"An inquiry has been ordered into the cause of the skidding incident," K. Shyam Sundar, Air India Express chief operating officer, told AFP.
Mangalore airport was the site of a deadly accident in 2010 when an Air India flight from Dubai crashed during landing, killing 158 people.
Eight passengers survived the crash that authorities blamed on the pilots overshooting the runway.
Officials in the western city of Surat said meanwhile they were also investigating a private airline after it overshot the runway on Sunday.
The Spice Jet plane -- carrying almost 50 passengers and crew -- failed to stop at the designated spot, with the plane coming to a halt in a red zone.
Surat Airport director Sanjay Kumar Panigrahi said that the pilots could not apply the brakes due to poor visibility following heavy rains.
The airport was temporarily shut and efforts were made to remove the plane.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
A state-owned Air India Express flight skidded off the runway in the southern city of Mangalore. -APP/AFP
