Explanations were sought from the air traffic control department, the fire department and Air India. The court will hear the versions of other stake holders on August 18 and 19.
A court of enquiry of the crash of Air India Express flight IX 812 began on Tuesday — 86 days after the tragedy when the flight crashed while attempting to land at the Bajpe airport, killing 158 passengers.
Explanations were sought from the air traffic control department, the fire department and Air India. The court will hear the versions of other stake holders on August 18 and 19.
While enquiries are on, the information available with the Air Traffic Control Guild points to the fact that the flight had overshot the landing threshold by several metres and also that the approach to the runway was higher than the normal approach altitude.
Air India officials told the court that Boeing 737-800 was just a year old and was in a fine condition; they also added that the pilot and the co-pilot had made several successful trips to Mangalore in the past. The officials of the Airport’s Authority of India had deposed to the court that at the time of landing, the Instrument Landing System (ILS) was in perfect health and the ATC had established contact with the IX 812 seconds before it touched down.
The fire department of Mangalore, which had rushed to the spot minutes after the crash, had indicated chaos at the crash site and said that the narrow approach road had been allowed to be chocked with traffic. The fire engines from the Kadri fire station were the first to reach the spot but the airport’s internal fire force was already at work. The fire was doused in less than an hour, the official told the court.
The chairman of the court of enquiry, Air Marshal (retd) B Neelkanth Gokhale, later told the media that his report would be ready only by September-end.
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