The Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of the Air India Express flight that crashed in Kozhikode airport in Kerala on Friday night was recovered from the site on Saturday morning. Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri who flew from Delhi to the accident site said there was no need to speculate as a probe has been ordered adding that there was no question over the pilots’ competence.
The recovery of Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) will help piece together what happened during the last moments of the flight.
Puri said the pilots operating the Air India Express flight were very experienced. Commander of the aircraft Deepak Vasant Sathe, a former fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force had 10,000 hours of flying experience on the Boeing 737 aircraft. Out of that he flew 6,662 hours as commander. Sathe had landed on the challenging air field of Calicut 27 times including more than 10 times this year itself while co-pilot, Akhilesh Kumar who was 32 years old also had experience of 1,728 hours of flying with the 737 aircraft.
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“The aircraft was captained and operated by one of our most experienced and distinguished commanders - Deepak Sathe. He had landed on this airfield as many as 27 times, including this year. He was a very accomplished, experienced, decorated person in command of the aircraft. There is absolutely no doubt over their competence,” Puri said.
{{/usCountry}}“The aircraft was captained and operated by one of our most experienced and distinguished commanders - Deepak Sathe. He had landed on this airfield as many as 27 times, including this year. He was a very accomplished, experienced, decorated person in command of the aircraft. There is absolutely no doubt over their competence,” Puri said.
{{/usCountry}}Puri left from Delhi to Kozhikode on Saturday morning along with two probe teams. One flight took off around 0200 hours from Delhi to Kozhikode carrying investigating officers from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), CEO of Air India Express and other officials of the national transporter.
Another flight from Mumbai to Kozhikode took off around 0600hrs in the morning carrying rescue teams of Air India to provide support and assist families of those affected in this accident while a third flight will take off from Delhi around 0600hrs carrying the CMD and other senior officials of AI.
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“Reached Kozhikode to take stock of the status & implementation of relief measures after the air accident last evening. Will hold consultations with senior civil aviation officials & professionals. Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder of the aircraft have been retrieved. AAIB is conducting investigations. It is very unfortunate that 18 people including the two pilots have lost their lives in this air accident. I once again offer my condolences to the families of the bereaved and wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” Puri tweeted.
The civil aviation ministry’s accident investigation division Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will conduct a detailed investigation into the crash. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India which investigates aircraft accidents. The bureau’s role is to conduct independent aircraft accident investigation and to obtain a preliminary report on the accident and assist in setting up of the committee of inquiry and formal investigation in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules.
According to Air India, there were 190 people on board the Air India Express flight AXB1344 including 174 passengers, 10 infants and four crew members. Air India Express is a subsidiary of state-run airline Air India.
The so-called tabletop airport has limited space at the ends of the runway, and several international airlines had stopped flying bigger aircraft into Kozhikode due to safety issues over the length of the runway.
Puri said that there was no need to speculate on what happened during the crash till the probe has been completed and DGCA files an investigation report . He also said that it was fortunate that the plane didn’t catch fire.
“ We will look into all the issues. Let me tell you that there are table-top airports not just in our country, but all over the world. These airports pose a problem but then landing clearances are given based on the experience of the pilots. Let us not speculate as a full and comprehensive probe will take place,” he added.
According to a playback on flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, the plane circled the airport twice before attempting to land. In its second instance, it aborted the attempt with 2,000 feet to go before the crash landing.
The crash has claimed at least 18 lives including the two pilots. Air India Express on Saturday said it will provide an interim compensation of Rs 10,00,000 to the next kin of the deceased passenger 12 years and above, Rs 5,00,000 to the passengers below the age of 12 years, Rs.200,000 to critical injured passenger and Rs.50,000 to the passengers who are injured in the incident.
“Air India Express regret to confirm that its flight IX-1344 from DXB to CCJ was involved in an accident on the 7th August 2020 at Calicut. As an immediate relief, the airline will provide interim compensation to the to the next kin of the deceased and to the injured,” the airline said.