Mangaluru plane crash survivors recall horror, gratitude 15 years on

Fifteen years after the tragic crash of Air India Express flight IX 812 in Mangaluru airport, which killed 158 people, a survivor of the accident, K Pradeep, still recalls the day with solemn reflection and quiet gratitude.

That aircraft overran the runway on May 22, 2010 and crashed.

Pradeep, now a civil contractor in the city, visits the crash memorial at Kulur every May 22. He lays flowers at the plaque, stands in silence for the lives lost, and offers prayers.

“It was the charity work done by my parents and their blessings that saved me,” he told PTI, recalling the horrific moment when the Boeing 737 aircraft failed to stop and plunged into a gorge.

After paying tribute, he also visits temples to thank the divine for what he calls a miraculous escape.

Another survivor, Usman Farooq, who now works with an ambulance service, also believes his survival was due to divine intervention.

He remembers how the portion of the aircraft near the wing, where he was seated, broke apart just in time to allow his escape. Farooq said he owes his life to the Almighty and sees his work in emergency services as a way of giving back.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which investigated the crash, attributed the cause primarily to human error. The inquiry found that the aircraft touched down approximately 5,200 feet down an 8,000-foot-long runway, leaving insufficient distance to bring the aircraft to a halt.

Despite repeated warnings from the co-pilot and alerts from the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS), the captain continued with an unstabilised approach. Investigators also revealed that the commander of the aircraft had been asleep during a portion of the flight and was likely experiencing “sleep inertia,” a state of cognitive impairment, at the time of landing.

The Court of Inquiry, led by Air Marshal B N Gokhale largely supported the DGCA’s conclusions, highlighting pilot error as the primary cause. However, it also pointed to systemic failures.

The report noted that the rigid structure housing the localiser antenna at the airport was not frangible, contrary to international civil aviation guidelines. This contributed to the aircraft breaking apart upon overshooting the runway.

The inquiry also mentioned that audits conducted by the DGCA in previous years, including one in 2007 and another shortly before the crash in 2010, had flagged several deficiencies in Air India Express’s training and safety oversight mechanisms. Unfortunately, corrective measures were not implemented in time.

Emergency response efforts at the crash site were hindered by inadequate access routes and limited firefighting resources. Survivors and emergency responders later noted that these deficiencies delayed rescue operations and may have cost lives.

In the aftermath of the crash, the DGCA initiated safety audits of other critical airports across the country. The regulatory body also formed the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council to improve oversight.

Reforms were proposed to enhance runway safety, especially at tabletop airports like Mangaluru, and to reinforce crew training, especially on go-around procedures. Some of these measures have been implemented, but infrastructural gaps at many airports remain a concern.