The investigation report blames the two pilots of the Air India Express flight for the Kozhikode crash last year. Are they merely the fall guys for a system that refuses to be held accountable?
On 11 September, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Civil Aviation submitted its much-delayed report on the crash of Air India Express flight AXB 1344 in Kozhikode last year. Twenty-one people, including the two pilots, lost their lives. There were 184 passengers and 6 crew on board. The report squarely put the blame on the pilots. It said:
“The probable cause of the accident was the non adherence to SOP by the PF [the captain], wherein, he continued an unstabilized approach and landed beyond the touchdown zone, half way down the runway, in spite of ‘Go Around’ …
Prince leads the newsroom at The Morning Context as managing editor. A fascination with the written word has taken Prince to some of the leading newsrooms across the country, including The Economic Times, Dow Jones Newswires, Forbes India and Moneycontrol. In a career spanning 20 years, Prince has led teams, managed pages, projects and special editions, and has authored The Consolidators, published by Penguin Random House in 2017.
Managing Editor
prince@mailtmc.com
Mumbai