An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 operating flight IX 712 from Muscat to Kannur was involved in a serious runway incident on May 15 during a night departure from Muscat airport.

According to sources cited in the report, the aircraft mistakenly aligned with the runway edge lights instead of the runway centreline after entering runway 26L through taxiway E7.

During the take-off roll, the aircraft struck and destroyed several runway edge lights, leading to a loud bang and a master caution warning inside the cockpit.The pilots immediately rejected the take-off and safely brought the aircraft to a halt on the runway.Initial reports indicate that the aircraft suffered a hydraulic leak and a flat tyre due to the impact.Passengers and crew were later evacuated from the runway and transported back to the terminal building.Sources further stated that the aircraft’s engines sustained major damage because of foreign object ingestion caused by debris from the collision.The aircraft, registered as VT-AXR, remained grounded in Muscat for several days after the occurrence.

A replacement Boeing 737-800 was arranged by the airline the next day to operate the delayed Muscat-Kannur service, which departed more than 13 hours later than scheduled.

Oman’s Air Accidents Investigation Sector (AAIS) has classified the event as an accident and initiated a formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the runway alignment error.As per the report, the pilot-in-command was a foreign national while the first officer was Indian.Air India Express had not issued an official statement at the time the report was published.