Air India Express Flight 812

Air India Express Flight 812

An Air India Express Boeing 737, registration VT-AXU, similar to the aircraft that was involved in the accident
Accident
Date	22 May 2010
Summary	Under investigation
Site	Beyond runway 06/24 at Mangalore International Airport 12°56′48″N 074°52′25″E
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-8HG
Operator	Air India Express
Registration	VT-AXV
Flight origin	Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates
Destination	Mangalore International Airport, India
Passengers	160
Crew	6
Fatalities	158
Injuries	8
Survivors	8

On 22 May 2010, around 06:30 local time, Air India Express Flight 812, a Boeing 737-8HG, registration VT-AXV, on a scheduled passenger flight from Dubai, UAE to Mangalore, India overran the runway while landing at Mangalore International Airport. It fell into a ravine at the end of the runway and caught fire. There were 160 passengers and 6 crew members on board the aircraft. Of these, only eight passengers survived.

With 158 fatalities, this accident is currently the third deadliest in India's aviation history; after the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision which killed 349, and the 1978 crash of Air India Flight 855 which killed 213. It marked the first major Indian aviation accident since the July 2000 crash of Alliance Air Flight 7412 in Patna. At this time, this accident is the deadliest crash of a 737 aircraft (all series) and the eighth hull loss of a Boeing 737-800 aircraft. It is the second instance of an aircraft overshooting the runway at Mangalore. This is the deadliest aviation accident in 2010 so far and the second of the year involving a 737-800 aircraft.

Aircraft and flight crew

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-8HG, part of Boeing's 737 Next Generation series, with aircraft registration VT-AXV and manufacturer's serial number 36333, line number 2481. The aircraft first flew on 20 December 2007 with the Boeing test registration N1787B and was delivered on 18 January 2008.

The flight crew consisted of Zlatko Glušica, the captain, and H.S. Ahluwalia, the first officer. Glušica, a British and Serbian national with over 10,000 hours of flying and over 7,500 hours of command experience, and Ahluwalia (a former employee of Jet Airways who joined Air India in April 2009), are believed to have been killed. Both the pilots were based in Mangalore. The flight had six crew members.

Flight chronology

The flight had a scheduled departure time of 01:35 local time from Dubai International Airport in Dubai. It crashed upon landing on the 8,033 foot (2,448 m) runway number 06/24 at Mangalore International Airport in Mangalore, India at around 06:30 local time (UTC+05:30).

Crash

After touching down, the plane overran the runway and crashed down the hill at the end of the runway. Prior to the landing, there was no indication of any distress. Speaking to reporters at a press conference subsequent to the accident, India's civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, said that the aircraft was following an ILS (instrument landing system) approach for landing on the new runway, which was commissioned in 2006. The pilot reported to the ATC (air traffic control) that it was ‘established' on ILS approach at about 15 km from touchdown. Landing clearance was given at 7 km from the touchdown. The airplane concluded the ILS approach on runway 24, touched down slightly past the touch down zone, overran the runway, ploughed through a 90-metre long sand arrestor bed which could not stop the airplane, one wing impacted the concrete socket of the localiser antenna and broke up, then the airplane plunged into the ravine coming to a stop 200-300 metres past the top of the slope. Most occupants died instantly. Fire broke out some time later. The minister also stated that weather conditions were normal with a visibility of 6 km, and said the wind condition was calm and there was no rain at the time of the crash. A drizzle started only after the accident.

Statements from survivors seem to suggest that a tyre burst during the landing, that the aircraft struck an object and fire broke out rather quickly. It was reported that a survivor of the crash described hearing what he thought was a tire bursting as the aircraft touched down. "Then the plane veered off toward some trees on the side and then the cabin filled with smoke. I got caught in some cables but managed to scramble out," he said. Another surviving passenger claimed that the airplane hit a building before it broke into pieces and caught fire.

Mangalore International Airport

An Air-India Express Boeing 737-800 at Mangalore International Airport

Mangalore International Airport is located near Bajpe in south-west India, about 20 km (12 mi) north-east of Mangalore city centre.

The airport, situated in a hilly area, is one of seven Indian airports designated as a "critical airfield" by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. That means it is considered a difficult airport to take off from and land on and DGCA rules stipulate that "supervised take offs and landings" are prohibited i.e. only the captain (not the first officer) can pilot the aircraft during take-offs and landings. The airport is one among the three airports in India that has a table top runway (others being Kozhikode and Lengpui) which creates an optical illusion that requires a very precise approach. According to one of the Senior Pilots , if the Landing is done with more than 2.5 G , the Pilot has to give an explaination of the incident , to avoid that and to have a smooth landing ,pilots tend to float the aircraft , which looses a lot of runway . Since in this case , Pilots had already overshot the touchdown point , floating for a smooth landing added to the loss , which could be a reason for using up so much of the runway length resulting in hard braking which further resulted the tire burst .

Victims

Apart from the six crew members, a total of 160 passengers were on on board. there were 169 names on the original passenger list but nine did not board the flight. 152 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage. The majority of victims were believed to be from the districts of Kasaragod and Kannur in Kerala. Karnataka Home Minister V. S. Acharya said eight people were initially reported to have survived, although one person died of his injuries - this was however refuted by an AI spokesman who confirmed that all initial survivors were alive. The airport manager at Mangalore, Peter Abrahim confirmed that there were difficulties when trying to reach the plane .

Nationality	Fatalities		Survivors	Total
	Passengers	Crew
Bangladesh	0	0	1	1
India	152	5	6	164
Serbia	0	1*	0	1*
United Kingdom	0	1*	0	1*
Total	152	6*	7	166*

^* denotes dual nationality.

Rescue

Local villagers were among the first on the scene to help. An estimated 15 firetrucks, 20 ambulances and 100 rescue workers were immediately pushed into the rescue operations. The Karnataka Western Range Inspector General of Police, Gopal Hosur, said that "eight to ten people have been shifted to hospitals. Although if they will survive is unsure. They are being treated. This is a highly unfortunate event. The Karnataka Police force, bomb squad, fire force, Karnataka State Reserve Police and all the hospitals are working unitedly to help out in this situation. We are doing the best we can." The Central Industrial Security Force sent 150 personnel to Mangalore to help in the relief and rescue operations. By 23 May 2010 all of the deceased had been recovered from the crash site, and relatives had received 87 of the bodies.

Investigation

Initial investigations reveal that the plane landed about 600 metres (2,000 ft) further on from the usual touch down point on the runway. The total length of the new runway 24 at Mangalore airport is 2,450 metres (8,040 ft). Airline officials have put together a team along with the Airports Authority of India that have been rushed to the scene to investigate the incident and assist with the rescue efforts. Boeing has also announced that a team will be sent to provide technical assistance to Indian authorities at the request of the latter.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered an inquiry into the crash, which began the day of the crash. The NTSB is also assisting the investigation with a team of specialists including a senior air safety investigator, a flight operations specialist, an aircraft systems specialist and technical advisers for Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration.

According to audio transcripts obtained from the ATC, Serbian pilot Zlatko Glusica, aged 55, was given clearance to land, however, he suddenly aborted the attempted landing. The throttle of the aircraft was reported to have been found in the forward position, which suggests that the pilot had attempted to abort the landing and proceeded to take off again from the runway, which is surrounded by steep slopes.

The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was recovered on 23 May, and the flight data recorder (FDR) was recovered two days later. The recorders will be analysed in New Delhi by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation with help from Boeing.

Response

A special emergency information service was established quickly. Praful Patel, Indian Civil Aviation minister, has left from New Delhi to be at the scene. The one-year-in-office celebrations of his government's second tenure were also postponed. The Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa and Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan immediately left for the place of accident to take stock of the situation.The chairperson of governing alliance UPA, Sonia Gandhi issued a message of grief and wished a "speedy recovery" to all. The Indian Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, took moral responsibility for the accident and offered to resign his post. However, the Indian Prime Minister rejected his resignation. Many countries and organizations have expressed sorrow and condolences to the people of India over the crash.

The accident was reported to cost the insurers Rs 400 crores. Although the cost negated through reinsurance.

Compensation

The Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh announced Rs. 200,000 (approximately US$4,260 or €3,390) for the families of the dead and Rs. 50,000 (approx. US$1,070 or €850) for the injured. These funds are to be allocated from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.. The Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa has also announced a compensation of Rs. 200,000 (approximately US$4,260 or €3,390) to the families of the dead.. In addition to this the Civil Aviation Ministry has advised that the Airline will provide up to Rs, 7,200,000 (approx US$160,000) to the family members of each victim as per the provisions of the Indian Carriage by Air (Amendment) Act which follows the Montreal Convention. For now, the Airline has announced an interim compensation of Rs. 1,200,000 for passengers above 12 years of age, Rs. 500,000 for passengers below 12 years of age and Rs. 200,000 for every injured passenger. This compensation is over and above the ex-gratia payment announced by the Prime Minister. Air India said it would offer the survivors jobs.

See also

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• TAM Airlines Flight 3054
• Alliance Air Flight 7412
• Indian Airlines Flight 557

External links

External image
Photos of VT-AXV at Airliners.net

• Air India Express Flight IX812 – Air India
• Boeing Statement on Air India Express Accident – Boeing
• Mangalore, survivor tells of air disaster