MUMBAI: The mystery behind the Mumbai-bound Jet Airways Boeing 737-800 veering off into soft ground at Riyadh airport last Friday has been solved. The pilots mistook a taxiway — pathways leading off the runway to parking bays — for a runway and attempted a take-off.

Licences of both pilots have been suspended, said Lalit Gupta, joint director-general of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, on Monday. Pilots are generally derostered after any “incident”, pending investigation. The tougher decision points to the gravity of the incident. In 2000, a Singapore Airlines plane crashed after a similar mistake killing 81.

The Saudi Arabia Aviation Investigation Bureau said on Sunday that the visibility was high and there were no obstacles on the taxiway. “The aircraft accelerated with full take-off power and exceeded the taxiway onto unpaved area…”

A Jet spokesperson said: “The matter is currently under investigation and we cannot comment.” Last week, the airline had said that the flight “departed the runway, following an aborted take-off... All 142 guests and seven crew members safely evacuated”.

