SpiceJet flight to Belgaum makes safe landing but from wrong end of runway, pilots derostered

New Delhi: A SpiceJet Hyderabad-Belgaum flight landed at the wrong end of the runway at Karnataka’s Belgaum airport on Sunday following which the pilots have been derostered, the airline said on Monday. The incident took place on Sunday and the aircraft landed safely. An airline spokesperson said in a statement that, “On October 24, SpiceJet DASH8 Q400 aircraft operated from Hyderabad to Belgaum. ATC had cleared the aircraft to land on RWY26 (runway 26) at Belgaum. The aircraft, however, landed on RWY08 (runway 8)”. This means that the plane touched down at the other end of the runway (termed RWY08) at the Belgaum airport instead of the designated end (RWY26) of the same runway. The SpiceJet spokesperson said the aircraft landed safely and the airline acted “immediately and proactively” on receiving the information and informed DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) and AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) about it and immediately off rostered both pilots pending an investigation. In July 2019 , a Boeing 737 plane of SpiceJet was partially stuck on the runway and the nearby grassy area at the Mumbai airport resulting in the main runway of the nation’s second-busiest airport remaining shut for a few days. This had severely impacted operations leaving many flights cancelled. The Mumbai airport has only one main runway, and that had made the situation all the more complicated. Before that in April 2019 , a Boeing 737 aircraft operated by SpiceJet had overshot the runway while landing at the Shirdi airport, bringing the regional facility to a complete halt.