Mystery shrouds over Air India crash

Mumbai: Mystery shrouds over the mishap involving Air India Express IX-812, a Boeing 737-800 with 166 people on board that overshot the runway, fell off a cliff and caught fire, on its arrival from Dubai at the Mangalore airport on Saturday morning. The Mangalore International Airport is a table-top airport located along the coast.
While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing the issue, former pilots and technical experts said that it is too early to pin-point the exact cause of the accident.
Some assessment could be done only after the details of the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), popularly known as the Black Box, are read and analysed. Human error has not been ruled out.
Moreover, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) has not received any distress signal from the commander of the flight.
It is not yet clear whether the runway was wet or otherwise. “What is more important is to know what where the tailwind, crosswind and headwind at around 6am, when the accident took place,” said a civil aviation expert.
“Moreover, poor visibility has been ruled out,” said an official, who admitted that the pilot landed ahead of the touchdown point and zoomed ahead of the 8,000-feet-long runway. “The pilot may not have got the chance to retrieve the aircraft because of the speed,” said an expert.
Another former pilot pointed out that it is to be seen whether the pilot and co-pilot have taken rest. “Whether they have got enough sleep is a question that needs to be answered,” he said.
Technical aspects – particularly concerning the brakes – or whether the plane was carrying excess load or fuel – also needs to be checked.
22/05/10 Sakaal Times

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Air India Budget May 2010, Airports May 2010, NACIL May 2010, Safety May 2010