On 7th August, during the peak of the ongoing pandemic, the rescue flight from Dubai to Kerala met with a tragic accident in Kozhikode upon arrival at the Calicut International Airport, claiming 19 lives. It was however the timely efforts of the local good samaritans and authorities that the other 171 survived. This 45- minute gripping documentary by Discovery + uncovers the events around the ill-fated flight that crashed upon landing at one of the most challenging and dangerous runways to land on in the country.
The film, Vande Bharat Flight IX1344: Hope to survival, uses graphical illustrations to simulate the accident and the aftermath. This special documentary unfolds the human emotions, details behind the accident and expert opinions breaking down the possible causes of the disaster. Aviation experts like Captain Amit Singh (Pilot and Aviation Blogger), Captain Mohan Ranganathan (Independent Aviation Professional) and Captain Sandeep Baweja (Pilot / Former colleague of Captain Sathe); CISF staff and the local rescuers will form the core of this story with survivors sharing what exactly happened and what was running on their minds.
Survivor Mufeeda Manathankandy from IX1344 recalls emotionally, “7th August is a day I will never be able to forget. The IX1344 crash that happened then is an extremely regretful and very unfortunate accident. The tragic incident has shaken me to my core as it is something one believes would never happen to them. I am grateful to have survived but with the pain of witnessing the loss of lives of some fellow passengers and pilots.”
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, an Independent aviation professional added, “Flying thousands of feet up in the sky travelling in a giant aluminium tube, is a marvel of innovation by the human mind which most certainly comes with its risks and challenges. The crash is a saddening and extremely unfortunate incident. Such accidents often happen when we fail to foresee unfavourable factors. During the time of the accident, the area was receiving heavy rainfall, dropping visibility to a bare minimum. The airport has one of the most dangerous runways in the country unfortunately did not favour flight IX1344.”