'Black boxes retrieved, transcripts to be available soon': DGCA on Kozhikode air crash

Director-General of DGCA Anil Kumar on Sunday said that the transcripts from the black boxes of the Air India Express flight that crash-landed at Kozhikode airport on Friday would be recovered soon. This comes after the black box was retrieved and brought to Delhi to be kept at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) lab for examination.

Kumar, while speaking with ANI, opined that it will be possible to tell what exactly happened only after conducting a thorough and unbiased probe.

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'Can tell what exactly happened after conducting a thorough probe'

"Soon we will have all transcripts from recovered black boxes. We are also going to talk to Boeing to examine the aircraft's original equipment and check for defects. Only after conducting a thorough and unbiased probe, can we tell what exactly happened," he said.

"It was an unfortunate incident. The investigation has started. Independent body, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating the incident as per the guidelines laid by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The initial report said aircraft touchdown 3000 ft overshot the runway. It was a late touchdown. There was a light rain following which aircraft slipped and went down by 10 feet. There are multiple things to be investigated before concluding the reason for establishing the causes of the crash. it could relate aircraft, airport, human error, weather," he added.

Kumar also recalled the Mangaluru air crash and highlighted that a committee gave suggestions regarding table-top runways adding that it was suggested to improve its pavement strength, increase its runway and safety area for the Calicut runway.

"Airport Authority of India (AAI) had recarpeted the runway and its strengthening was done in 2016," he said.

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Tragic Kozhikode crash

At least 18 have died in the horrific plane crash, including the two pilots Capt. DV Sathe and First Officer Capt. Akhilesh Kumar, while the four crew members are safe and the injured were treated at hospitals in Malappuram & Kozhikode. Youngest to succumb was a one-year-old boy who was undergoing treatment at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital after the plane crash.

Air India Express flight IX-1134 from Dubai which was deployed under the Vande Bharat Mission overshot the runway at the Kozhikode airport at 7:41 pm on Friday and nosedived into the valley, splitting into three pieces. The airlines in a press release informed that there were 184 passengers and 6 crew members on board.

(With ANI inputs, image credit: PTI)