Mangalore: The pilot-in-command of the Air India Express aircraft from Dubai that overshot the runway and crashed while landing at the Mangalore airport was a British national of Serbian origin. He was assisted by Co-pilot H S Ahluwalia.
Fifty-five year-old Zlatko Glusica was an experienced pilot and familiar with the Mangalore terrain. With 10,000 hours of flying experience, the pilot had 19 landings at the Mangalore airport. He had been flying in India for the last two years.
Co-pilot H S Ahluwalia from Karnataka began flying in April 2009 and had 3,750 hours of flying experience. Based out of Mangalore, he had 66 landings at this airport.
A Boeing 737-800, the aircraft, with 166 people on board, overshot the runway while landing at the Mangalore airport at 6:05 am on Saturday. According to sources, the pilot overshot by 2000 feet.
It crashed into the valley before bursting into flames, killing 158 people. Eight people managed to survive the deadly crash.
According to sources, the pilots did not report any malfunction to the Airport Traffic Control (ATC), before landing at the Mangalore Airport.
The 'table-top' Mangalore airport is considered tricky for aircraft landings and take-offs, particularly in the rainy season. The runway is on top of a hill and surrounded by deep gorges that are just 30 metres from the runway with tropical forests on three sides of the mountain.
Aviation experts say the airport leaves no room for error as it does not have an overshoot area, which means that if a pilot makes a mistake and lands too far down the runway, it could lead to a disaster
According to reports, the runway was extended to 8,000 feet in 2006 and there have been as many as 32,000 safe landings on this extended runway.
Sources say the ATC saw the plane approaching normally and enter the runway. It was only after landing that things went horribly wrong. There was a slight drizzle at the time, but the runway was not wet, and visibility was good.
The trouble reportedly began when the aircraft landed beyond touchdown zone and overshot the table-top runway with a cliff just beyond. Sources say a tyre burst could have possibly made it difficult for the pilot to halt the aircraft.
Information from the sources says the plane violently veered and hit the concrete base of an antenna at the edge of the runway. A wing broke and the plane moved towards the cliff, split on the edge and fell into the valley, before bursting into flames.
Survivors were thrown out at the edge of the tarmac and some got stuck in overhead cables.
Complete facts on what led to the accident will be available only after an official inquiry.