NEW DELHI: The horrific Air India Express crash in Mangalore on May 22 that killed 158 people could have possibly been averted had the expat commander heeded his Indian co-pilot’s advice. Records of the conversation between the pilots and ATC has shown that co-pilot H S Ahluwalia more than once urged Captain Zlatko Glusica not to land and instead go around, report agencies.
Importantly, Ahluwalia’s warning had come well before the aircraft had descended below decision height – the critical level at or before which a final decision on whether to land or go around is to be taken – said highly placed sources. Ahluwalia, who was based in Mangalore and had landed there 66 times, voiced his concern when the aircraft was about 800 feet high, they added.
“Ahluwalia warned at least twice against landing and urged his commander to go around. He had probably realized the aircraft was either too fast or too high on approach – indicating unstable approach – and would not be able to stop safely on the table-top Mangalore runway. In such situations, going around is a standard operating procedure which enables the aircraft to land safely in second attempt,” said a source at ATC. The aircraft (IX 812) was coming from Dubai.
But the warning went in vain and the aircraft did not go around. It landed, only to crash and fall off the cliff from this table-top runway. The latest revelation only confirms Ahluwalia’s excellent knowledge of the local runway condition. The co-pilot lived in the city. He was due for commandership later in May.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has guidelines for cockpit resource management (CRM) that makes it mandatory for commanders to listen to their comparatively less experienced co-pilots as they may also have something valid to say. According to industry sources, CRM training is very strong in Jet Airways, where Ahluwalia had served earlier. “This is the backbone of Jet and this training would have made Ahluwalia call out very strongly,” said sources.
Authorities are now pinning their hopes on details from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (black box) to know what exactly transpired inside the cockpit in the final moments. More importantly, they now want to know what made Ahluwalia give the warning for a go-around and why the commander did still went ahead to land. But the CVR and black box have got substantially damaged and may have to be sent to the manufacturer (Boeing) in US for decoding.
The Boeing 737-800 touched down after overshooting 2,000 feet of the 8,000-feet-long runway. The second error followed seconds later.
Sources said preliminary probe is indicating that the crew realized they may not be able to stop in the remaining airstrip and attempted to take off again. But it was too late by then. A Boeing 737-800 can stop in 4,500-5,000 feet. The Mangalore runway is 8,000 feet long and even if the pilots had overshot the touchdown point by 2,000 feet, there was enough length left to stop.
“Initial observations reveal the pilots may have attempted to take off again,” a source said.
Meanwhile, the aviation ministry has decided to extend Mangalore runway’s length by 1,000 feet.
Earlier, the airline denied lax safety claims saying Air India Express meets all regulatory requirements and has been always well equipped to handle the operations and maintenance of its fleet to established standards.
Pilots and engineers were fully trained and qualified, while regulators had audited and cleared every aspect of its work, the airline said in a statement while describing Air India Express as a “world-class international low-cost carrier”.
The state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800, which was inducted on January 15, 2008 and piloted by British national of Serbian origin Capt Zlatko Glusica, had 160 passengers and a six-member crew on board the budget carrier, flight IX-812. The passengers included four infants.
Glusica (55) had 10,000 hours of flying experience, an official said.
Police said about 90 charred bodies have been recovered and that fire has been doused from the accident site in this coastal city, nearly six hours after one of India’s worst ever air mishaps occurred at around 6.03am. A majority of the victims are Keralites.
Mangalore airport has been shut down for further operations.
Karnataka home minister V S Acharya said the condition of some of the injured was critical.
According to aviation officials, the aircraft overshot the runway, hit a fence and went beyond the boundary wall of the airport. First, one tyre burst, then the other tyre burst and the plane caught fire. The aircraft then broke into pieces.
Sadananda Gowda, who is the BJP MP from Mangalore, said the accident happened after a wing of the aircraft hit a hillock when the pilot attempted to take off after the plane overshot the runway while landing.
Officials said the weather was cloudy and there was slight drizzle when the aircraft was landing at the runway which was opened 10 days ago.
The plane broke and smoke billowed from the main fuselage. According to preliminary reports, the aircraft exploded after it caught fire. The plane was almost completely burnt with only its tail visible.
One of the survivors Umar Farooq said the aircraft experienced turbulence. One eyewitness said a tyre of the ill-fated plane had burst on landing.
Rescue operations were in full swing and search was on for the black box which could give clues to the cause of the crash.
Airports Authority of India chairman V P Agarwal said visibility was 6-7 kms, more than that required, when the ill-fated plane landed in Mangalore.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will conduct full inquiry into the incident, Agarwal said.
The exact cause of the accident at the airport, which is about 30 km from the city, is yet to be ascertained. Agarwal said there was “no distress indication” from the pilot of the ill-fated plane.
The visibility at the airport was 6 kms, which is “more than that required”, when the ill-fated plane landed in Mangalore, Agarwal told reporters in New Delhi.
Replying to a volley of questions, Agarwal said, “No constructional deficiencies were noticed” and that authorities had conducted all necessary safety checks at the airport before the runway which has been operational since 2006.
Fire and police officials removed the bodies that have been charred beyond recognition from the wreckage of the smoldering aircraft. Firefighters sprayed water on the plane as rescue workers struggled to find survivors. One rescue personnel ran up a hill with an injured child in his arms.
Scores of villagers scrambled over the hilly terrain to reach the wreckage, and began aiding in the rescue operation.
The new runway was constructed as part of the expansion project of the Bajpe airport.
The airport’s location, on a plateau surrounded by hills, made it difficult for the firefighters to reach the scene officials said. Aviation experts said Bajpe airport’s “tabletop” runway, which ends in a valley, triggered fears of a bad crash if a plane overshoots it. Rescue operation proved to be an arduous task as hundreds of people gathered near the disaster site.
Officials said Sabreena, Umar Farooq, Roza Pratap D’Souza, Mohammed Kutty, Krishna and Pradeep were among the survivors.
Sabreena has suffered ankle fracture and Farooq burns on his face and hands, they said.
AI has opened helpline centre at Delhi Airport and the two numbers are 011-2565-6196 and 011-2560-3101. Mangalore helpline number is 0824-2220422.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those killed in Mangalore air crash and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the PM’s National Relief Fund.
Meanwhile, civil aviation minister Praful Patel has rushed to the spot. Congress president Sonia Gandhi also expressed grief and sorrow over the tragic air accident in Mangalore. In a message, she wished speedy recovery to those injured.
India’s worst aviation accident occurred in 1996 when two passenger planes collided in mid-air near New Delhi with the loss of all 349 on board both flights.
— PTI
