Air Deccan is bending safety norms

Mumbai: On January 29 this year, Air Deccan failed to report the exact number of passengers on board its flight DN 763 from Bangalore to Mumbai.
"They reported 161 passengers, but then the number of passengers who checked in were 170," a Bangalore Air Traffic Controller (ATC) source told CNN-IBN.
So, how does an aircraft takes off from Bangalore with a 161 passengers but lands here in Mumbai with 180?
CNN-IBN: You counted a 180 passengers?
AAI officer: Yes and even this list showed 180 passengers.
Air Deccan clearly under-reported the number of passengers to the Bangalore ATC, to cover up the fact that it had over-booked.
Says an off-loaded passenger, Louie Mathew, "Even though the capacity is 180, they over book to about 200 people. They reported 161 to the ATC in Bangalore to basically account for the fact that 15 to 20 people were stranded at the counters."
To cover up one lie, Air Deccan committed an even greater sin.
An Airports Authority of India Official was caught on hidden camera saying, "In case of an accident, we have to count the number of people, and I had told them this was against the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) law."
The passenger list or the Manifest, now in the possession of CNN-IBN for Januray 29 is full of irregularities. The document clearly shows that the total number of passengers on paper is 170 while the actual passengers on board was 180.
22/03/07 Ruksh Chatterji/CNN-IBN

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Categories: Air Deccan Mar 2007, Safety Mar 2007