Maldives authorities have threatened legal action after launching an extensive investigation over the mistaken landing on the unfinished runway at the country's main airport by an Air India flight on Friday.
The Air India flight flew to Male from Thiruvananthapuram carrying 106 passengers and landed on the runway which remains under construction.
According to airport officials, the under-construction runway was covered with pieces of cloth with cross signs.
Maldives Civil Aviation Authority has now issued an accident bulletin which said the plane's wheels were damaged when they got caught on the pieces of cloth during the landing. However, none of the passengers, the crew or workers at the runway had been injured in the incident.
The aviation authority vowed to take necessary legal action under international aviation regulations after the investigation into the incident is completed.
India’s aviation safety regulator has suspended the pilot and co-pilot of the A320 neo aircraft, Indian media reported, as the lives of the passengers and four crew members were put at risk.
“This being a serious incident, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been informed. Both the pilots have been put off the roster,” a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation told The Indian Express.
