India / Govt announce ₹10L for kin of those killed in AI Express flight accident

Kozhikode: Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Saturday that it was too early to compare Kerala plane tragedy with Mangaluru accident. He was addressing a press conference in Kozhikode where a plane crash on Friday evening left 18 people dead and several others injured.

The minister said that a conclusion cannot be reached before probe begins into the crash.

“Table top is everywhere. It is true it poses some challenges to pilot. We can wait for the outcome of the probe. We learnt lesson from Mangaluru mishap and it is too early to compare with the mishap that happened 10 years ago,” the minister said after taking stock of the situation at the crash site on Saturday morning.

The crash occurred at the Kozhikode airport when an Air Inidia Express plane with 190 passengers and crew members overshot, fell 50 metres off the end of the runway and broke into two. The flight was bringing Indians stranded in Dubai amid Covid-19 pandemic under the government’s Vande Bharat Mission.

The minister said that the Centre was working closely with the state government to alleviate the suffering of the affected, announcing an assistance of Rs 10 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.

While 149 people are getting treatment at hospital, 23 others have been discharged after being treated.

Praising the pilot of the plane Capt Deepak Sathe, who along with co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar died in the crash, Puri said Sathe was a coveted professional.

“The aircraft was being captained and operated by one of our most experienced and distinguished commanders, Captain Deepak Sathe. In fact, he had landed on this airfield as many as 27 times, including this year, ” the minister said.

The digital flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from the Air India plane have been recovered are being brought to Delhi for further investigation.