Private jet skids off Mumbai airport; pilots, passengers injured

The CSMIA spokesperson in a statement said, “On 14.09.2023, M/s VSR Ventures Learjet 45 aircraft VT-DBL operating flight from Vizag to Mumbai with 06 passengers and 02 crew members on board, veered off the runway at Mumbai International Airport. The incident occurred at approximately 17:02 pm today. There are no casualties. CSMIA’s airside team is on-ground to assist with the clearance on-site.”

Watch: Private jet skids off #Mumbai airport runway, pilots critically injured; several flights diverted

Read 👇🏽 https://t.co/WNbM4FZpwH #Mumbaiairport #Mumbaijet #privatejet pic.twitter.com/lz1SvPh365

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) September 14, 2023

While flight operations were halted after the incident, the spokesperson later confirmed that the runway opened “for operations post DGCA clearance at 18:47 after all safety checks were conducted.”

A source confirmed that the plane was carrying six officials of a private firm firm and they all are safe. The source confirmed that the family members of all the passengers, including the pilots, had been informed.

An official confirmed that for around 90 minutes when flight operations were halted, flights were diverted either to Goa and Ahmedabad by the Air Traffic Control (ATC).

The aircraft was owned by a private firm. (Photo: Special Arrangement)

Explaining the incident, a senior official at the airport said, “The plane bumped, swung and skidded on the runway. Normally, when a plane lands at Runway 27 it usually moves towards Juhu but the private plane swung and moved backside. The plane direction changed due to it and it turned 180 degrees.” He said that the plane crashed during the incident.

Maharashtra | VSR Ventures Learjet 45 aircraft VT-DBL operating a flight from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai with 6 passengers and 2 crew members on board, veered off the runway at Mumbai International Airport. No casualties were reported: Spokesperson, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj… pic.twitter.com/rjkCmBge9x

— ANI (@ANI) September 14, 2023

The senior official confirmed that all flights had to be diverted for over an hour to Ahmedabad and Goa as the entire Mumbai airport had to be closed. “Flights had to be diverted as the weather was bad and also Runway 14-32 too could not be used as the location of the incident was very close to this runway.”

The official said while only one runway is used every day, on Thursday, Runway 27 was used for both landing as well as take-off.

Details of the injured:

Dhruv Kotak (40): Sustained soft tissue injury on his right arm, abrasions on his forehead. He is conscious and oriented.
Arul Sali (51): Suffered bilateral parietal scalp injuries, which required sutures. He, too, is conscious and oriented.
Captain Neil Diwan (21): Suffered major injuries, necessitating urgent surgery. His injuries include a frontal flap wound, a fractured D12 vertebra with paraplegia, and a sternal fracture accompanied by anterior mediastinal hemorrhage.
Captain Sunil Bhat (23): Suffered injuries on his left forehead, upper lip, and multiple abrasions on his right leg. He has a stable L1 vertebral fracture.
Kamakshi (34): Sustained a wound on her left eyebrow.
K K Krishnadas (60): Suffered fracture in his right ankle, a left femur fracture, and abrasions on his forehead. His pulsation remains normal, and his abdomen is soft.
Lars Soens (58): Lars exhibited blunt trauma and tenderness in his right chest. He also suffered fractures in ribs 3, 4, and 5 on the right side of his thorax, accompanied by mild hemothorax, pleural and mediastinal hemorrhage, and a sternal fracture.
Akarsh (27): Akarsh miraculously showed no external signs of injury.