Air India Express flight IX-247 had to return and make an emergency landing in Mumbai, India, on January 6th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but had to turn back due to a hydraulic failure.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and seventy-seven passengers and six crew members remained unharmed.
Air India Express flight IX-611 had to make an emergency landing in Mumbai, India, on October 12th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane heading from Tiruchirappalli, India, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was diverted after the airport officials informed the crew that the plane may have impacted localizer antenna and wall during departure.
The plane landed uneventfully. All one hundred and thirty passengers and six crew members remained unharmed.
The plane sustained substantial damage.
Air-India Express flight IX-322 made an emergency landing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on November 15th.
The plane heading from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Calicut International Airport, Kerala, India, was diverted after a passenger complained of pain in his chest and vomited blood.
The plane landed safely.
The patient, Mohammed Salim, 35, was rushed to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
A Dubai-bound Air India Express flight IX 539 returned and made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport, Kerala, India, at 10:30 p.m. on August 19.
The flight was scheduled to take off at 4:30 p.m. local time, however, the passengers were told that it would be delayed due to a technical issue in the aircraft. The plane finally took off at 7:52 p.m. and just minutes after that, the decision for emergency landing was made following a failure in the electronics system.
The plane landed uneventfully after shedding extra fuel. All 195 passengers and crew members remained unhurt.
The passengers were booked in another flight for Wednesday morning.
A Dubai Bound Air India Flight Diverts to Mumbai on Suspicion of Damaged Tire
An Air India Express Flight flying from Lucknow to Dubai made a safe emergency landing in Mumbai on its third attempt.
Flight IX 193 took off at 2.05 pm on March 8, 2014, from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow. Small rubber particles were detected on the runway after take-off led to suspicions that one or more tires could be damaged.
The plane was then diverted to Mumbai for an emergency landing, where the pilot asked ATC to check if the tires were satisfactory for safe landing. According to reports, the pilot brought the plane 100 feet above the runway, twice unsuccessfully. ATC successfully viewed the tires on the third flyby, after which the plane landed safely.
Forty-four passengers were aboard the Air India Express flight that made an emergency landing in Mumbai. The plane developed a “technical glitch” but landed safely.
The passengers were provided an alternative flight.
The Air India Express flight had been en route from Bahrain to Mangalore.
What: Air India Express en route from Cochin-Salalah
Where: Salalah
When: Nov 3, 2011 9:45
Who: 87 passengers
In this event, the pilot of an Air India Express COK-Salalah (Oman) flight, made three attempts to land. A cumulation of numerous small errors threatened passenger safety and defied standard operating procedures and included mis-entering data into the system.
The pilot forced the B737 to land using “autoland” in high cross-winds.
Wind speed on the ground was 25 knot (46 kmph) gusting to 35 knot (65 kmph.) Operating procedure allows landing when winds are no higher than 25 knots. The Boeing FCOM lists 35 knots as the max permissible crosswind landing component on a 45m wide. The pilot would have been correct to divert to another airport. There was adequate fuel to do so (if he had realized the numbers entered into the system were incorrect). Ground conditions were at the top of what Boeing allows and would be a challenge. Instead of diverting to Abu Dhabi, the pilot landed in defiance of safety norms.
The pilot attempted to land twice, and then decided to divert. Having been entered with incorrect data, the FMC (Flight Management Computer) incorrectly concluded there was only six minutes of flight time left. This was incorrect, as the plane had 4.7 tons of fuel, more than enough to reach Abu Dhabi, 75 minutes away.
On the pilot’s third attempt, the pilot autolanded (without having trained for autolanding.) It was a safe, if hard landing, and one that damaged the plane and nearly went off the runway. Two tires burst, and the landing gear was damaged.
Maybe this pilot is a fool, or maybe just careless. The plane did land with no loss of life. You know they always say “the devil is in the details.” I don’t know verifiable particulars. We don’t have available first hand data to analyze, but Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation does.
But when we see evidence of problems like this, we wonder if India has gone far enough in raising the bar.
Vayalar Ravi, Indian Civil Aviation Minister met or called (on the 18th) victims of the Mangalore crash to discuss their compensation claims. A meeting on the 19th included representatives from the airline, the government and the insurance company.,
The crash occurred in May of 2010, when the Dubai-Mangalore Air India Express jet overshot the runway, killing 158 people aboard.
However other business was also being handled during the meetings.
The outcome of the meetings has not yet been released.
Plane crash cases take a long time to settle, and the families of the Mangalore Crash can vouch for it, having been waiting since the date of the crash in May of 2010. Families who are still waiting on a settlement, and will be back in court this November. They aren’t looking for extraordinary measures, but want compensation for flight 812–the Air India Express Dubai-Mangalore in accordance with the Montreal Convention. 152 died in the crash.
According to The National, Airlines are required to pay compensation of 7.5 million rupees (Dh560,000) per passenger to families of crash victims, just as a Kerala judge ordered. Then that judge was overruled in favor of Air India Express. This November, the case will move into the highest court to rule in favor of the victims or Air India Express.
I know I have said this before, but it bears repeating.
I must remind the families that the value of the aviation case is usually much higher than 75 lakhs.
And this is because Tier II of the Montreal Treaty.
The convention’s second tier deals with the portion of a claim exceeding the $155,000 limit. An airline can avoid liability for portions of claims over the limit by proving it was “not negligent or otherwise at fault.”
I’m not a lawyer but I know from experience how it works. I have been working with wrongful death cases for years, and have learned a lot from the experience my aviation experts have graciously passed on to me.
If you can prove provable damages, then Tier II (referred to in Article 21(2) of the Montreal Convention) Air India Express is liable to families/passengers for all personal injury or wrongful death damages exceeding 100,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), unless the carrier(s) can prove that the injuries or deaths were not due to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of the carrier or it servants or agents OR the injuries or deaths were solely due to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of a third party.
My guess is that the carrier will never prove this. The burden of proof is on them. If I am correct, and know the experts who have taught me, are correct, Air India Express is liable to the victims’ families for all damages under the applicable law, including but not limited to, pain & suffering of your loved one prior to death.
They are liable for pain and suffering, the loss of support, i.e., money, the loss and enjoyment of life of the victim.
I hope the families don’t sell themselves short, and give up all that may be coming in return for even a payment of the 75 lakhs. Accepting 75 lakhs—which may look like a lot after the losses they’ve suffered—but if they sign their name on the dotted like, they give up the right to future compensation.
Russi Mody who ran Air India in 1993 resigned because his grand plan for Air India was strangled by red-tape and government intervention. Mody’s famous last words condemn Air India’s “lack of talent and the complete absence of an incentive and accountability culture. There is no punishment, no reward, no participation and the horse and the donkey are treated alike.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
It looks like the Air India tradition is continuing. Air India has booted out Chairman and Managing Director Arvind Jadhav, and booted in Rohit Nandan. Jadhav had only been there since May 2009, his tenure lasting a year before and after the May 22 Air India Express Flight 812 crash in Mangalore, where the plane touched down 300 feet past the touch down zone on a “tabletop” runway which demands a very precise approach. One might say that Air India Express Flight 812 did not make a precise approach.
Hopefully Rohit Nandan will be able to assist Air India to straighten out its troubled finances, with debt over 42570 crore, and losses of 22,000 crore. They say he’s there for damage control, because the damage has already happened.
Air India paid its April and May wages on June 28 and incentive pay has yet to be paid. The Indian government is infusing money into the airline (currently a 5,000 bailout with more to come.)
Nandan is hoping to turn around the airline and make it profitable, with the government’s help.
We’re skeptical, but we hope he can fix things, because we’re concerned for the victims of the Mangalore crash back in May 22 2010.
The Kerala High Court upheld the rules of the Montreal Convention, and directed Air India to pay 75 lakhs as compensation to the families victim of that crash, but the airline has not abided by the directive and is considering a fight in court.
I know that no one has gotten anything yet; but families should know that in most cases the value of the case is much higher than 75 lakhs, pursuant to Tier II of the Montreal Treaty. I’m not a lawyer but I know how it works from experience over the many years I have been working with wrongful death cases, and based on the experience my aviation experts have graciously passed on to me. If you can prove provable damages then Tier II (referred to in Article 21(2) of the Montreal Convention) Air India Express is liable to families/passengers for all personal injury or wrongful death damages exceeding 100,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), unless the carrier(s) can prove that the injuries or deaths were not due to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of the carrier or it servants or agents. OR the injuries or deaths were solely due to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of a third party.
My guess is that the carrier will never prove this and the burden of proof is on them. If I am correct, and know the experts who have taught me, are correct…
Air India Express is liable to the victims families for all damages under the applicable law, including but not limited to, pain & suffering of your loved one prior to death.
They are liable for pain and suffering of the survivors and heirs of the victims.
Air India Express is liable for the loss of support, i.e., money.
Air India is liable for the loss and enjoyment of life of the victim.
I could go on but I will stop here, and caution the families to please be very careful. Don’t give up all that you may have coming in return for even a payment of the 75 lakhs that at this point, the company is appealing. If they actually get around to offering it to you, to get it, it means you have to give up all your rights to future claims.
This is not a cold corporate issue. These are families involved, the struggling families of the 158 people killed aboard the death-bound Mangalore Air India Express Flight. Families struggling now to make ends meet, and dealing with the loss of fathers, mothers, children. Let us hope these once broken homes are not twice made victims by being taken advantage of, instead of getting the support that anyone with a heart knows they deserve.
Air India’s lack of talent lost a whole lot more than money. It lost 158 lives, and seems to be doing its best to destroy the families, first with the crash, now by neglect, and maybe soon by legislation. The families are now floundering for a year in grief, wrestling to keep their head above water, while corporate heads are pinching pennies, playing corporate musical chairs, and playing a blame game over disastrous policies. They deserve better.
There are two accounts of the Pilot Alexander Glusicia’s situation prior to the Mangalore-Dubai-Mangalore flight. We wonder which of these versions is true.
1. Alexander (Zlatko) Glusica was initially not rostered by Air India to fly on the day of the crash— not scheduled to fly till May 23.. His schedule had last minute changes, when Glusica was asked to fly though he was fatigued, having just returned from a Serbian vacation.
2. Capt Glusica had landed in Mangalore two days in advance, and was plenty rested prior to flying.
Officials claim the family had opportunity to appear before the Court of Inquiry but they never came.
PILOT NOT ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO FLY
What: Air India Express Boeing 737-800 en route from Dubai to Mangalore
Where: Mangalore airport
When: 6:00 a.m May 22 2010
Who: Passengers include 23 children, 6 crew, 158 fatalities and 8 survivors
Air France continues that tradition by providing two anniversary memorial services for Air France Flight 447 victims, one in Rio de Janeiro for 100 participants, and one in Paris for 400 participants. Air France is providing transportation and facilities for the memorials and reunions.
The glass monument recalling the victims was placed in Leblon (Rio); it has 228 swallows etched into it, each representing someone who died aboard the flight.
Where is the monument to all the 152 victims, Airblue?
Where will you be holding the anniversary service on July 28?
As the homemade cardboard tribute says “Sympathy is no substitute for action.”
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer WT
Update
May 22 was the anniversary of Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai, which overshot the runway and crashed at Mangalore, India. The crash victims’ support group spokesman said that “About 50 families have received compensation from the insurance companies, but many families have not even been contacted. ” According to the organizer, Rafik Eroth, “…insurance representatives are playing foul over the payouts…Many families have lost their breadwinners and face major financial difficulties. I believe [the insurance companies] are delaying the process to pass the two-year mark so that the families lose their claims.” Families of crash victims had a two-year period in which to apply for compensation
The Civil Aviation Ministry ordered the airline to provide up to $159,840 to families of the victims in accordance with the Indian Carriage by Air Act, (following the Montreal Convention.)
It has been a year, and still some of the families have not yet been contacted about compensation.
The Indian Court of Inquiry probe report was submitted to the civil aviation ministry yesterday. The report says that “Air India pilot Zlatko Glusica, from Serbia, was asleep for much of the three-hour flight and was “disoriented” when the plane started to descend.” The experienced First Officer had fewer hours but was soon due for command, and had landed frequently at that airport. He called for a go-around which the Captain ignored.
Captain Z Glusica had more than 10,200 hours of flying experience—but not landing at that airport. He was the pilot in command and reacted late, and was suffering from “sleep inertia”. His heavy nasal snoring and breathing was captured on the CVR. Many standard operating procedures were not followed during landing. Co-pilot H S Ahluwalia repeated “abort landing” saying they didn’t have enough runway left, three times asking for a “go around”.
With less than 3,000 feet of runway left, the pilots tried to take off again and crashed in the gorge at the runway’s end.
The plane’s takeoff gear was found activated. Experts concluded if the pilots had not attempted to take off again, the plane emergency brakes could have brought the plane to a halt.
This is not the first time Air India has had exhausted pilots. What had their schedule been that week?
June 2008: Mumbai air traffic controllers woke two sleeping pilots with an alarm when they were 200 miles past their destination.
What: Air India Express Boeing 737-800 en route from Dubai to Mangalore
Where: Mangalore airport
When: 6:00 a.m May 22 2010
Who: Passengers including 23 children, 6 crew= 158 fatalities and 8 survivors
Why: Air India Express flight 812 attempted touch down was around the middle marker. (Conflicting) reports are that it overshot the runway, and that the pilot intended a go round (tapes reveal the co pilot was urging a go-round) but the plane hit the localizer antenna at the runway’s end, plowed through the perimeter losing part of a wing, and went down 75 feet into a ravine, and broke into pieces and burst into flames. On touchdown, there was a reported “bang” which may have been a tire bursting. A drizzle started after the accident. From 5 to 10 people have been hospitalized, but according to reports there are possibly 3 survivors.
Survivor Abdul Puttur suffered burns. He was seated near the wing exit and said that the pilot had announced the landing, then there was a thud. He saw huge flames after the plane fell into the ravine and then he jumped out from the back entrance. Another passenger said the pilot made no announcement.
The Serbian pilot was Zlatko Glusica, first officer was S.S. Ahluwalia.
According to DGCA rules, Mangalore International Airport is deemed a “critical airfield” which means that “supervised take offs and landings” are prohibited. Only the captain (not the first officer) can pilot take-offs and landings. Mangalore International Airport has a controversial table top runway and which forces pilots to make a precision landing. The airport has no buffer zone, and pilots landing planes must fly precisely or risk hurtling off the edge.
Following the Air India Express tragedy in Mangalore India (and definitely in response to it), the DGCA (India’s Directorate-General of Civil Aviation) has been trying to shut the gate after the horses are out. They’re still pointing their fingers at the pilot.
The tape of the crash records the co-pilot Capt H S Ahluwalia (*i.e. the pnf) insisting to Commander Capt Zlatko Glusica to initiate a go-around. The Captain (**i.e. the pf) did not, and the plane landed too far down the runway, clipped an antenna, crashed thru the end of the runway, off the edge of the runway plateau. We can only assume the captain ignored his co-pilot, as no go-around was initiated.
Apparently the pilot was in error and the co-pilot knew it. It must have been obvious to Ahluwalia that they were landing at the wrong angle too far down (the middle) of the runway–but he did not act on his knowledge. At any rate, he was in disagreement with his superior officer.
Consequently, the DCGA has issued an operations circular highlighting procedural assertiveness for the co-pilot when he knows the pilot is wrong. The Mangalore tragedy is not mentioned by name, but it is certainly the silent subtext.
Did the crash occur because the co-pilot did not take the controls? What exactly will this circular accomplish? Had this circular been public already, would the pilot and co-pilot have ended up in a wrestling match over controls of the airplane?
It will be interesting to hear from pilots about what they think the consequences of this directive might be, and if they think a cultural context may play a part.
I always turn to the experts. Right now, before the full investigation is out, I am hearing a lot of speculative “pilot error” but it is all speculation. But is it all pilot error?
My experts remind me that “Every incident is linked to a chain of events. Each event alone is not sufficient reason to provoke an accident although when they link together the chances are multiplied and sometimes the accident occurs.” ( I am quoting a pilot.)
For example, if pilot fatigue were a contributing factor (landing at dawn after a long tiring duty cycle), isn’t the carrier’s policy on pilot fatigue a contributory factor?
The Boeing 737 landed midway on runway 24, and then overshot it, crashing into a gorge. Initial reports on the civil aviation website showed runway 27 mislabeled as runway 24. The actual crash site was not even pictured, a mistake that certainly casts doubt on the quality of the investigation, and possibly even the quality of the resources available to pilots at the time they were negotiating a landing. What did their map say? Is a pilot alone in error if the resources provided him are in error? I know I am digressing, but the point I want to make is this:
I don’t have years of flight school, or engineering training but I do have opinion. And in my opinion, pilot error alone does not cause a crash like this.
Terminology
*pnf – pilot not flying
**pf – pilot flying
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Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer WT
What: Air India Express Boeing 737-800 en route from Dubai to Mangalore
Where: Mangalore airport
When: 6:00 a.m May 22 2010
Who: 160 (?) passengers including 23 children, 6 crew= 158 fatalities and 8 survivors
Why: Air India Express flight 812 attempted touch down was around the middle marker. (Conflicting) reports are that it overshot the runway, and that the pilot intended a go round (tapes reveal the co pilot was urging a go-round) but the plane hit the localizer antenna at the runway’s end, plowed through the perimeter losing part of a wing, and went down 75 feet into a ravine, and broke into pieces and burst into flames. On touchdown, there was a reported “bang” which may have been a tire bursting. A drizzle started after the accident. From 5 to 10 people have been hospitalized, but according to reports there are possibly 3 survivors.
Survivor Abdul Puttur suffered burns. He was seated near the wing exit and said that the pilot had announced the landing, then there was a thud. He saw huge flames after the plane fell into the ravine and then he jumped out from the back entrance. Another passenger said the pilot made no announcement.
The Serbian pilot was Zlatko Glusica, first officer was S.S. Ahluwalia.
According to DGCA rules, Mangalore International Airport is deemed a “critical airfield” which means that “supervised take offs and landings” are prohibited. Only the captain (not the first officer) can pilot take-offs and landings. Mangalore International Airport has a controversial table top runway and which forces pilots to make a precision landing. The airport has no buffer zone, and pilots landing planes must fly precisely or risk hurtling off the edge.
July 15, 2010
The Angels of Air India have handed over identified personal items of the victims to the families as provided by M/s. Kenyon International, the agency appointed by Air India to identify the personal effects recovered from the crash site.
The unassociated / unidentified items including yellow metal/gold recovered from the crash site by the police have been handed over to Air India. The catalogue for the same is under preparation by M/s Kenyon International. Once the catalogue is ready, the families of the victims will be contacted and requested to provide the details of yellow metal/gold items so that they can be matched with the catalogue. After proper identification, the same will be handed over to the families concerned in the presence of the police and Custom authorities. Air India would also request members of the Mangalore Air Crash Victims Families Association to help in identification of the yellow metal/gold items.
