158 killed in Mangalore air crash; 8 survive

Mangalore: As many as 158 people were killed today when an Air India Express flight No IXE 812 from Dubai overshot the runway at the Bajpe airport in Mangalore, plunged into a valley and burst into flames in the worst air disaster in a decade. Of the 166 on board, seven survived with severe injuries while one escaped unhurt in the crash that happened around 6 a.m. All of them have been admitted to various hospitals in Mangalore.
The aircraft was carrying 137 adults , 19 children and six infants. Most of the passengers were from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka, or from Kasaragod district in northern Kerala.
The aircraft was commanded by Capt Z. Glucia, a Serbian pilot with 10,200 hours of flying experience. Capt H. S. Ahluwalia, who was the co-pilot, was based in Mangalore and had 3,650 hours of flying experience.
Capt Glucia has landed at Mangalore 19 times and had last flown from the town in November 2009. Capt Ahluwalia, who has 3,350 hours of flying experience on Boeing 737 aircraft, had landed 66 times in Mangalore.
The ill-fated aircraft, bearing call sign VT-AXV, joined the fleet on January 15, 2008, and had no history of defects and malfunctions.
The Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, who rushed to Mangalore in the morning, inspected the site of the crash and later spoke to some of the survivors.
22/05/10 Business Line

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