Did a half hour early landing cause flight IX-812 to crash at Mangalore Airport in May?
Did a half hour early landing cause flight IX-812 to crash at Mangalore Airport in May?The Court of Inquiry headed by Air Marshal (Retd), Bhushan Nilkanth Gokhale, probing the May 22 Air India Express air crash at the local airport, held a public hearing as per prescribed procedures, yesterday, at the Bajpe Airport.
A 737-800 Boeing aircraft of Air India Express flight IX-812 from Dubai had overshot the runway and plunged into a ravine early morning on May 22, killing 158 persons including crewmembers.
|
| The commission probing the May 22 Air India Express crash near Mangalore Airport recorded statements of 20 witnesses. |
The proceedings have revealed two shocking truths the flight did not land on schedule, and the radar at the airport was non-functional at the time of the crash.
During the course of the hearing, it was reported that for every 100 times, the plane has landed beyond schedule 49 times.
Even the ill-fated plane landed ahead of schedule and this point prompted the commission of inquiry to raise questions.
When the commission questioned whether this landing before or after schedule did not cause any problems, Girish Kamath, watch supervisory officer at the ATC replied in affirmative.
He added that the radar was not functioning at the time of the crash. It was because of that, that procedures were being undertaken manually two days before the crash.
He said that the ATC reopens at the Bajpe Airport at 6 am after the staffu00a0 completes its shift at 5.30 am. He, however, added that there were nine on-duty staff at the time of the crash, and they should have been able to manage it.
However, that was a problem because the plane landed slightly before schedule. When the commission asked him whether he had complained to Air India regarding this problem, he replied in negative.
Mahesh Pai, duty officer at the ATC, said in his deposition that he had seen a fire ball near the airport before the crash and had even raised alarm and contacted other officials. He, however, added that at such crucial times, it is the pilot who is the best judge.
Ronald John of the Meteriological department added that the visibility was good at the time of the crash. "The wind was calm, there was no drizzle, and the runway was dry," he said.
The commission recorded the statements of 20 witnesses on day one.
