AI crash not due to pilot error alone

MANGALORE: Mumbai-based ‘812 Foundation’ will file a complaint in a city court alleging collective failure of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Air India and Mangalore Airport led to the Air India Express flight (IX 812) crash killing 158 passengers.812 Foundation president and Mumbai-based advocate Yeshwanth Shenoy said according to his research and CoI report, the death of 158 in the crash cannot be dismissed as a ‘pilot-error’. Had it been only a pilot error, no one would have perished in the crash, Shenoy added.He said he had proof revealing Air India had not checked on the foreign pilot’s expertise on flying Boeing 737 aircraft. “Even when Pilot Glusica was not eligible to fly a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, he was given a FATA licence. DGCA which cleared the licence had failed to verify the captain’s minimum flying experience,” he added. As evidence, he cited DGCA extending Air India’s licence to operate flights despite the deficiencies exposed in safety audits. Based on his documents on the airport, he said the CoI noticed ‘non-frangible ILS’ in the airport, which triggered the fire.Shenoy said international civil aviation organisation rules permit frangible ILS structures. According to him, the passengers would have survived despite injuries if ILS was a frangible structure. He added the marks denoting the runway length were wrongly measured and this may have confused the pilot, who landed far beyond.“As CoI was able to expose the cause of accident, a police investigation would have revealed the cause of death,’’ he said.  A case based on the complaints of a survivor Abdulla Puttur was registered. “The complaint against Glusica was closed based on the court’s directions as he was dead,’’ said investigating officer and Panambur inspector Valentine D’Souza.