AI Express flight catches fire at Mangalore, casualties feared

Mangalore: An Air India Express flight with over 170 passengers on Saturday overshot the runway while landing in Mangalore from Dubai. Though there was no immediate official word on the casualties, aviation sources say at least 60 are feared dead. About 25 fire tenders and ambulances were at the crash site, authorities said. Rescue operation was hampered by the thick smoke that engulfed the plane, airport authorities said. Confirming the incident, Karnataka Home Minister VS Acharya said that there is a big fire in the aircraft. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel has immediately left for Mangalore to take stock of the situation. Terming the incident as unfortunate and unexpected, Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily said that a probe will be launched into the incident. The flight IX-892, operated by a Boeing 737-800, had 163 passengers, 4 infants and 6 crew members on board. The airport at Bajpe, about 30 km from Mangalore, is in a hilly area and is considered one of the most difficult airports to take off and land. The area has also been experiencing heavy rains for the last two days. Quoting preliminary reports, aviation sources said the aircraft overshot the runway, hit the fence and went beyond the boundary wall of the airport. Aviation sources termed it an 'accident' instead of 'incident'. In aviation parlance, an accident denotes causalities. AI has opened helpline centre at Delhi Airport and the two numbers are 011-25656196 and 011-25603101. Regarding the extent of damage, DGCA director-general SNA Zaidi told a news agency "we have received only preliminary reports regarding the accident. But we are waiting for the details including the number of passengers."

Saras crashes, three IAF pilots killed

BANGALORE: A Saras prototype II, India’s first indigenously developed multi-role transport aircraft, which was on a test flight, crashed near Bidadi, on Friday instantly killing three Indian Air Force officers. The reason for the crash is yet to be ascertained. Designed and developed by National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL), the aircraft took off from HAL Airport at 2.55 p.m. before coming down around 3.30 p.m. near Seshagirihalli off Bangalore-Mysore Highway. Pilot Wing Commander K. Praveen, co-pilot Wing Commander D.K. Saha and flight engineer Squadron Leader S. Ilyaraja were charred to death as the flight burst into flames soon after it crashed in an open field. According to NAL officials, the aircraft lost contact with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at 3.30 p.m. It was on a regular test flight, officials said. Sources said that such sorties were done twice a day and the aircraft took the same route for its training sorties. “We saw the aircraft coming down abruptly and followed the direction in which it went. It turned abruptly and started losing height. After a couple of somersaults in mid-air, it crashed. I could notice smoke from a distance,” said Anand, an eyewitness, recollecting the sequence of events before the aircraft crashed.

“Two loud blasts”
“As we went close, we heard two loud blasts. Except the tail-end of the aircraft, everything was burnt,” he added.Mr. Anand, a resident of Ramanagara, who was driving with his friend on the Mysore Road, claimed he informed the Ramanagara police immediately. While five fire tenders were rushed to the spot, Mr. Anand said everything was burnt by the time the fire engines reached the spot. The three experienced pilots along with the aircraft had taken part in the recently concluded Aero India 2009. Aircraft debris, including the propeller and parachute, were found strewn around the area, and some partially burnt parts were recovered as much as 500 metres away from the crash site. As the surging crowd threatened to run over the crash site, the police cordoned off the area to help the IAF officials locate the data recorder, black box and other details that could provide reasons for the crash. The charred bodies that were beyond recognition were salvaged from the debris around 7 p.m. Two rescue helicopters with some officials of the NAL and IAF were sent to the spot. The officials of Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are expected to visit the spot to conduct an inquiry on Saturday morning.