New Delhi, Aug 8 Heavy rains, along with low visibility, are being cited by aviation industry experts as the key reasons that caused the horrific plane tragedy at Kerala's Kozhikode airport on Friday.
According to a senior Airports Authority of India official, factors related to the inclement weather seem to have led the aircraft to land some 1,000 metres ahead of the safety margin - the required runway length mandated for aircraft to land at airports like the one in Kozhikode.
The aircraft seems to have cleared the required ground-roll area and landed deep into the touchdown zone.
"We have to wait for the findings of the official investigation into the incident," the official said.
"As of now, we just know that heavy rains, low visibility and gusty wind conditions might have forced the aircraft to land some 1,000 metres ahead of the safety runway margin," the official added.
Contacted for a comment, thee AAI's official response to was that the aircraft touched down near taxiway 'C' which is approximately 1,000 metres from the beginning of runway 10.
The total length of this runway is 2,700 metres
( With inputs from IANS )