'Technical parameters, systems appear to be in place'

Mumbai: A high profile Nationalist Congress Party leader and the Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel is saddened by the Mangalore crash. Patel, who was in Mumbai, spoke to Sanjay Jog on the worst accidents in a decade in the Indian civil aviation. Edited excerpts
What do you want to say about the Mangalore crash?
I am saddened and anguished over the incident. However, it is not a reflection on the safety standards set by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and other agencies.
Was it due to pilot error or technical snag?
Investigations have already been launched by DGCA. I will prefer the investigation to complete before making any comment in this regard. It’s a really unfortunate one. Apparently, all technical parameters and systems appear to be in place.
Doubts have been raised over the length of the Mangalore runway.
There is a criticism about the length of the Mangalore runway. All I can say is that it is a new runway replacing a 6,000 ft runway by a 7,500 ft runway fully compliant for Boeing 737-800 operations. Runways should be judged by the type of aircraft landing and takeoff, rather than its length. It has all the navigational and other aides to fly.
24/05/10 Business Standard

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