Investigators find black box of crashed jet, probe begins
PURI VISITS SITE All safety issues red-flagged by DGCA in past addressed by airport operator, says aviation minister
NEW DELHI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The black box of an Air India Express jet that overshot the tabletop runway of the Calicut International Airport while arriving from Dubai, nosedived and split into two was recovered on Saturday, even as authorities launched an investigation into the worst air disaster in India in a decade that has claimed 18 lives.
Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri visited the site of the accident on Saturday to assess the situation on the ground. “It (the plane) overshot the runway while trying to land amid what were clearly inclement weather conditions prevailing at that time,” he said at a news briefing, but added that it was still too early to speculate on the cause of the crash.
The Union minister said two separate teams reached Kozhikode from New Delhi to carry out investigations into the crash. Responders managed to rescue most of the passengers because the plane did not catch fire while descending the slope at the end of the runway, he added.
Puri said there was no question over the pilots’ competence.
An official from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were recovered from the crash site on Saturday. The cockpit voice recorder keeps a recording of all the conversations taking place in a plane’s cockpit and along with the flight data recorder, which logs data such as airspeed, altitude and fuel flow, it
can help in determining the cause of the crash.
Air India Express AIX1344 was a repatriation flight under the Vande Bharat programme for Indians who were stranded outside the country amid travel restrictions brought on by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
On Saturday, the sample of one of the passengers who died in the accident tested positive for the infectious disease, with state health minister KK Shailaja asking all those engaged in rescue operations to go into self-quarantine
as a precautionary measure and get themselves tested.
Puri earlier said the passengers included 174 adult passengers, 10 children, four cabin crew and two pilots.
“We were happy when we were about to touch down and I told my wife sitting beside me that rain was a welcome sign. But the happiness was short-lived. Suddenly, there were big jerks and loud cries. I tumbled out of my seat and lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes at the hospital, I was happy to see my injured wife. A pregnant woman, who was sitting
next to us, was not so lucky,” said a survivor, who did not wish to be identified.
Many people eager to see their injured relatives engaged hospital workers, who could be seen repeatedly asking them to maintain social distancing under Covid-19 prevention rules.
The commander of the aircraft, Deepak Vasant Sathe, a former fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force, had 10,000 hours of flying experience on the Boeing 737 aircraft, Puri said. Out of those, he flew 6,662 hours as commander. Sathe had landed at the challenging airport 27 times, including more than 10 times this year. His co-pilot, 32-year-old Akhilesh Kumar, also had experience of 1,728 hours of flying with the aircraft. “He (Sathe) was a very accomplished, experienced, decorated person in command of the aircraft. There is absolutely no doubt over their competence,” Puri said.
The minister left from Delhi to Kozhikode on Saturday morning along with two probe teams. One flight took off around 2am from Delhi, carrying investigating officers from DGCA, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the CEO of Air India Express and other officials of the national transporter, people aware of the developments said. Another flight from Mumbai to Kozhikode took off around 6am, carrying a rescue team of Air India to provide support and assist families of those affected by the accident, they added.
Air India Express is a subsidiary of state-run airline Air India.
“Reached Kozhikode to take stock of the status & implementation of relief measures after the air accident last evening. Will hold consultations with senior civil aviation officials & professionals. Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder of the ill-fated aircraft have been retrieved. AAIB is conducting investigations. It is very unfortunate that 18 people including the two pilots have lost their lives in this air accident. I once again offer my condolences to the families of the bereaved & wish speedy recovery to those injured,” Puri tweeted.
THE CM SAID QUICK
RESPONSE BY LOCAL RESIDENTS ENSURED MINIMUM LOSS OF LIVES IN A DISASTER OF SUCH A LARGE MAGNITUDE
THIRUVANANTHPAURAM/KOZHIKODE: Screams, blood-soaked clothes, panic and the blare of ambulance sirens captured the distressing scene at the Kozhikode airport after an Air India Express flight overshot the runway and broke up into two pieces in an accident that killed 18 people on Friday, eyewitnesses and rescue personnel said.
After the accident, local residents pitched in to assist in the rescue work and helped shift injured passengers to various hospitals, eyewitnesses said.
“It was raining heavily and we suddenly heard a deafening sound, and the aircraft came out of the boundary wall and fell on the road. We couldn’t believe it. Soon we heard cries for help. Smoke was billowing and there was smell of fuel also,” said Mohamad Sahal, a local resident who was among the first to reach the accident spot.
According to P Afzal, another resident of the area, many of them helped rescue officials. “Initially we did not wait for ambulances and evacuated the passengers in private vehicles and taxis. We also helped police in controlling traffic to make way for ambulances,” he said.
Those at the site said they saw children cling on to rescue personnel even as people personal belongings from shoes to baggage were strewn around.
“Small kids were trapped under the seats and it was such a distressing sight. When we reached there some were deplaned. Many of them were seriously injured. Legs were broken .... My hands and shirt were soaked in the blood of the injured persons,” a man who said he rushed to the airport after hearing a “terrible thud” said.
The chief minister, too, appreciated the instant response of the general public and the local authorities to the tragedy, which he said ensured minimum loss of lives in a disaster of such large magnitude.
“Even though 18 precious lives have been lost due to the impact of the crash, the rescue operations were a miraculous work. The general public and the officials played a big role in spearheading the rescue operations,” CM Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Malappuram district collector K Gopalakrishnan said: “It was a miracle we limited the damage. The local people were the first to reach the spot and they turned real heroes. They entered the aircraft risking their lives to save others. We have one aim, save maximum lives, and they played stellar role.”
Chaos and confusion also prevailed outside hospitals in Malappuram district as relatives of those on-board the flight thronged to the medical facilities to enquire about their family members.
P Noufal said his sister and five-year-old niece were on the flight that met with the accident. While he found his injured sister at Kozhikode’s Baby Memorial Hospital, he said he could not locate his niece despite making rounds of several hospitals in the district. He finally managed to find her at a private hospital with both her legs bandaged, Noufal said.
Healthcare workers said they were trying their best to treat the injured. “Initially there was some confusion but we eventually managed it well. Out of 44 patients admitted here, seven are critical,” said Dr Azad Moopan, MD of Aster Health Care, a leading health chain in the state.