A Swedish advocate at the International Court of Justice Stephen Ericson, an authority on air crash compensation, is the counsel for those seeking compensation. The first hearing of the case will take place in June first week.
Even as the first anniversary of the crash of Dubai-Mangalore Air India Express IX 812 in Bajpe that killed 159 passengers is just a week away, the compensation issue for relatives of victims remains unresolved. Families of victims have taken the case of compensation to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for getting the ‘right compensation’ from Air India on the lines of the Montreal convention.
A Swedish advocate at the International Court of Justice Stephen Ericson, an authority on air crash compensation, is counsel of those seeking compensation. The first hearing of the case will take place in June first week.
Air India’s compensation, arbitrated by Mulla and Mulla Company of Mumbai, did not come to more than `50 lakh while international norms recommended close to `1 crore. The final compensation has to be paid in accordance with the Montreal Convention, to which India is a signatory.
“Every person who dies in an air crash on an international flight is entitled to get a final compensation of $176,000 in the currency of the country where the aircraft crashed at the prevailing exchange rate at the time of the disbursement of the compensation,” said Mohammad Beary, president of the IX 812 crash victims’ family association.
“Most families of the victims reside in northern Kerala, mainly Kasargod and Kannur. They have cases going on fast track courts of that state,” vice-president of the association Narayanan said.
“It is now established that Air India’s expat pilot Glusica Zlatko was solely responsible for the crash as per the findings of the court of inquiry headed by Air Marshal Neelkanth Gokhale. Air India cannot escape from coughing up legal compensation as per the Montreal convention,” he said.
“The court of inquiry also quoted the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), to show that Capt Zlatko had not heeded the suggestion of his deputy, Capt Ahluwalia, to go around, not once, but twice. Ahluwalia feared that the runway would fall short,” Narayanan said.
Sources in Mulla and Mulla differed with the association on compensation. “The Montreal convention is fine, but it has to be read along with the ‘Carriage by Air Act,’ which states that compensation is payable on the basis of the international money value and standard of living of the particular country where the aircraft mishap took place. This means insurance companies are liable to pay,” sources said.
“Compensation is a simple issue based on the ‘proof of loss’. So far, 65 families have been compensated in accordance with the Montreal convention read together with ‘Carriage by Air Act’. Five got partial compensation. There is the case of an engineer who died in the crash. He had a monthly earning of `5 lakh and he left behind a young wife and two children. In his case, the compensation crossed `1 crore. There are families that got `50 lakh to `60 lakh also,” the sources said.
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