KOZHIKODE — A team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) investigating the crash of Air India Express aircraft at the Kozhikode airport recovered its black box on Saturday, officials said.
The black box records the conversation between the pilots as well as with the air traffic control tower, apart from the flight data.
The flight commanded by veteran pilot DV Sathe and co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar had skidded off on Friday evening and plunged 35 feet down the table-top airport runway, killing 18 persons.
At least 123 passengers were injured, with a few in serious condition and undergoing treatment at various hospitals here.
According to aviation guidelines, the DGCA will conduct a detailed probe and identify the real cause of the accident.
All top officials of Air India Express are already here. Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri is slated to arrive in the city by noon, apart from Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, few of his Cabinet colleagues, state Chief Secretary and the DGP.
Slippery runway, bad weather
In one of the worst air disasters witnessed in Kerala, an Air India Express flight, returning from Dubai under the Vande Bharat mission, crashed at the “table top” Kozhikode airport on Friday evening, leaving at least 18, of the 190 people aboard, dead including pilot, Capt D.V. Sathe and his co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar.
A deadly combination of a slippery runway, strong tailwind, bad weather conditions, and landing ahead of the threshold spot could have resulted in the skidding of the ill-fated Air India Express in Kozhikode that claimed 18 lives, two aviation experts said on Saturday.
“It may be due to lack of friction between the tyres and the runway. There may be the factor of hydroplaning due to waterlogging,” a pilot not wanting to be quoted told IANS.
— IANS
