A Mangalore-bound Air India Express plane overshot the runway at Bajpe Airport in Mangalore at 6.30 am this morning. At least 160 people are feared dead. The Boeing-737 coming from Dubai burst into flames soon after it overshot the runway while landing at the airport, said eye witnesses. The plane, manned by a Russian expat pilot reportedly landed 2000 feet from touchdown point. As many as 25 ambulances and firefighters have reached the spot and rescue efforts are on. Karnataka home minister VS Acharya told a TV channel: "There were 169 passengers on board, including four infants. Six or even of them may have survived." Rescue operators from the site say the weather is very bad and that is impeding speedy operations.
Aviation experts say that landing an aircraft in the Table Top airport in Mangalore requires special skills. The Boeing 737 is equipped with enough gadgets for a safe landing, so speculation is that human error maybe the cause of the accident. Experts also argue that if the visibility was poor, the pilot could have taken the aircraft up again and hovered around the airport till the visibility improved. But since the blackbox hasn't yet been recovered, the exact cause of the crash remains unknown. The Bajpe airport was inaugurated only 10 days ago. Sonia Gandhi and Karnataka CM have condoled the death of the passengers. UPA has cancelled its anniversary celebrations.
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