A Cessna Caravan aircraft, belonging to the North East Shuttle Service, crashlanded at Lengpui airport, after overshooting the runway, injuring nine persons who were on board.
Aizawl district SP, Mr Lalbiakthanga Khiangte, who visited the site of the crash, said that the nine-seater aircraft overshot the runway apparently due to strong wind and drizzle and fell into a brook after hitting the Instrumental Landing System.
While the Airport Authority of India officials were tightlipped about the visibility condition at the airport, unofficial sources said that visibility was lower than the prescribed norms for landing of a small aircraft.
The North East Shuttle conducts US-made Cessna Caravan 'air taxi' service from Lengpui airport and usually flies between Lengpui and Kolkata and the capitals of North-Eastern states, including Agartala, Guwahati, Imphal and Silchar.