At least 160 dead in India plane crash

[andorra-airport]

An Air India Express passenger plane from Dubai overshot a runway and crashed outside an airport in southern India on Saturday, killing at least 160 people in one of the worst air accidents in India in years.

The accident occurred near Mangalore airport in Karnataka state. There may have been five or six survivors, local media said.

Air India said the plane was a Boeing 737-800, with 166 people on board, including six crew members. Earlier estimates of the number of people on the plane had varied slightly.

Air India Express is a budget airline ran by state-run carrier

"At least 160 passengers have died in the crash," V.S. Acharya, home minister of the southern state of Karnataka, told reporters. "At least five to six people have been taken to hospital, their condition is not known."

Television channels said the plane crashed around 6.30 a.m. (0100 GMT). TV images showed it struck a forested area. Flames were seen blazing from of some of the wreckage as rescue workers fought to bring the fire under control.

One television channel showed a fireman carrying in his arms what seemed to be the mangled remains of a child.

"The aircraft has broken up into pieces and fire has engulfed the aircraft. There is lot of smoke," said Gopal Hosur, a senior police officer in Mangalore.

"The plane apparently overshot the runway and has crashed. We have news that the plane caught fire after crashing," said Rohit Katiyar, a top airport security official.

(Reuters)

[Bralo20]

In Managalore, India, a Boeing 737-800WL has crashed after it overshot the runway during the landing. The exact circumstances of the crash are yet to be determined, several stories are published on different websites. More then 160 people died during the crash, at least 6 are reported to have survived the crash and are transferred tot local hospitals.

The flight took off in Dubai (DXB) and had Mangalore (IXE) has destination. The flight carried flightnumber IX812.

The plane that crashed was less then 2 and a half years old.

Make: Boeing
Type: 737-8HG(WL)
MSN: 36333
First flight: 20/12/2007
Entry into service: 15/01/2008
Registration: VT-AXV

The plane:



Crash pictures: http://sify.com/news/Over-150-killed-in ... y=14942623 (Remark: some of the pictures are NOT suitable due graphic images).

[Homo Aeroportus]

Flight IX812. VT-AXV.

VOML / IXE has two RWYs. 09-27 was inop (A/C parked). 06-24 in use. about 2600m long.
Could have been be landing on RWY 24. Some photos show people on a railtrack near the accident scene, which is on the SW end of RWY 24.
At the landing end of that RWY is a RESA of 90m itself already downslope.
Then the terrain drops 60 meters in less than 300m. Strongly adviseable to stop on the pavement, similar to AF at YYZ.
EMAS in this configuration should be mandatory.

NOTAM issued on May 21 inform on trench digging and cable laying on side strips of runways. Earth moving + heavy rain = mud.....

Thoughts to those who lost someone.

[TexasGuy]

This is sad news. I hate plane crashes!

[TCAS_climb]

I always find it amazing when local authorities let dozens of bystanders get anywhere near the wreckage. A photo agency even released pics of relatives walking into this mess in t-shirts and sandals. There's blood, body parts and chemicals all over the place!

[Advisor]

(CAUTION: Some pictures are NOT suitable due to their graphic images).
(VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED)

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_dis ... &n_tit=Air India Express Crashes at Mangalore Airport.

RIP.

[regi]

a victim is a victim. But it is also sad that this crash will have a deep impact on many Indian families because most passengers were labourers in Dubai, sending cash money back home .
In the western world we have a system with private and government insurances.
I assume that many Indian workers have no proper insurances.
I can assumme that this crash will mean for many Indian relatives a very heavy financial backlash, resulting in no more money for education, health care, mortgages , ...

[sn26567]

Speed, landing point focus of Air India Express crash investigation
Some exceprts from ATW Online:

"Indian crash investigators are focusing on the speed and touchdown point of an Air India Express 737-8HG that crashed at Mangalore-Bajpe Airport Saturday morning."

"Survivors of India’s worst aviation disaster in 14 years described hearing a loud thud shortly after touchdown and the fuselage ruptured when the aircraft hit landing lights at the end of the runway."

[TCAS_climb]

Relatives will receive at least 160'000 euros from AIE. Perhaps more if they unleash the lawyers.

[regi]

Relatives will receive at least 160'000 euros from AIE. Perhaps more if they unleash the lawyers.

Yes, we have seen uncountable governmental declarations about compensation in India. In reality, the victims get nothing, or very little, or have to wait many years. See the Bhopal disaster.
In India, it makes a difference if the government says : " We will do..." or "We have done ..."
Not only in India btw. ( how many years took it before the Belgian victims of the Switel Hotel fire got or ( some ) compensation, or were even recognised as a victim ?)
The "maffia" in many countries is on the lookout for sudden cash money releases , to pick their part.
To be very harsh: I just cannot believe that relatives will receive 160,000 euro for each victim.

[Desert Rat]

I always find it amazing when local authorities let dozens of bystanders get anywhere near the wreckage. A photo agency even released pics of relatives walking into this mess in t-shirts and sandals. There's blood, body parts and chemicals all over the place!

+1, I was shocked as well...

[Crosswind]

It's cultural. Don't "blame" them... Death is also part of life, and many civilizations live with this fact.

Here in Europe we are "afraid" of death, and we tend to hide everything that relates to death...

[Desert Rat]

It's cultural. Don't "blame" them... Death is also part of life, and many civilizations live with this fact.

...

I don't blame them, and I'm use to it ...if in the Gulf,there's two cars on the side of the road you will have queue's for hours, because everybody (bur mainly fron the sub-continent )wants to see the misery of others...I call it sick voyeurism...

[TCAS_climb]

As a sidenote, I don't think it's cultural. Should the same happen anywhere else in the world, one could expect the same type of reaction. What's more "peculiar" here is that authorities (police, military, whatever) doesn't create a perimeter around the plane. Overwhelmed ? Under-trained ? Lacking the gear to secure the wreckage ? Understaffed ? Probably a bit of everything.

Bystanders and relatives have nothing to do down there. It's dangerous for them and they may damage important pieces of the gigantic puzzle that ultimately lands on the investigators' desk.

The mess we saw is understandable (I'm not pointing fingers or blaming anyone here). Understandable but still amazing, in a sad way.

[HAWK21M]

Looks like the Findings state Pilot error as the cause.
Maybe looking into the Runways on a table top airport & provide a safety margin in case of overshoot should be studied.