Who really crashed flight AXB 1344?
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?
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Editor's note: 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’ call by PM [the co-pilot] which warranted a mandatory ‘Go Around’ and the failure of the PM to take over controls and execute a ‘Go Around’.” SOP is short for standard operating procedure. While the report said “systemic failures” were a contributory factor to the crash, it was clear on whose fault it was. “Pilot error”, screamed the headlines of most newspapers and websites. The two aviators—Deepak Sathe and Akhilesh Kumar—are not around to defend themselves. But experts question the …
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