The tragic air crash at Mangaluru International Airport, which took the lives of 158 people has completed 14 years today, on May 22. The fatal accident took place on May 22, 2010. Of the 166 passengers boarded on Air India Express Flight 812, only eight survived. This was the first fatal accident involving Air India Express and still one of the deadliest air crashes in India. As per the investigation, the captain of the flight took an unstabilised approach towards landing despite the calls of ‘go around’ by the first officer on the runway. It resulted in overshooting the runway, falling down the hillside and bursting into flames. The runway of Mangaluru International Airport is comparatively shorter than others. The flights operating on these runways are often short-field performance packages which are suitable for landing on airports with short runways.
The plane involved in the crash, Boeing 737-800NG(SFP) was also one of them. The flight was from Dubai International Airport. The landing clearance was given at 2,000 feet from touchdown. It began its landing at 5200 feet from the start of runway 24, leaving only 2,800 feet to stop. It overran and ploughed through the sand arrestor bed. As it passed through it, the wings collided with antennas and fell down the hill. The flames engulfed the plane.
The then Prime Minister Of India, Manmohan Singh announced Rs 2 lakh for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured. Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa had also announced compensation of Rs 2.00,000 to the families of the dead. In addition, the Civil Aviation Ministry advised the airline to provide up to Rs 72 lakh to family members of each victim. The events of the crash were also featured in a series two episode of Aircrash Confidential titled Pilot Fatigue.
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