Flight Safety Information May 22, 2010 - Y No. 101 In This Issue Casualties in Air India crash, local official says Air India Airliner Down In Mangalore Preliminary Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Casualties in Air India crash, local official says Flight carrying 165 passengers crashes at airport near Mangalore Crash likely kills more than 160, according to Indian regional official Jetliner was arriving in India on flight from Dubai, according to Air India (CNN) -- A plane crash in southern India killed more than 150 passengers early Saturday, an Indian official said. About five or six people survived, V.S. Acharya, the home minister of India's Karnataka state, told CNN-IBN. Rescuers recovered at least 25 bodies from the wreckage of a plane crash in India early Saturday, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement. The Air India plane was carrying 165 passengers -- including four infants -- and went down around 6:30 a.m. (9 p.m. ET Friday) near the Mangalore International Airport, CNN's sister network reported, citing an airline spokesman. It was unclear how many crew members were aboard. The Boeing 737 burst into flames after overshooting the runway on a flight from Dubai, CNN-IBN reported. Eight to 10 people had been taken to hospitals, Gopal Hosur, inspector general of police in Mangalore, told CNN's sister network. Hosur said he did not know their conditions or whether they would survive. Witnesses told CNN-IBN that the plane crashed through the hilltop airport's boundary wall and fell into a valley. The network said that smoke from the plane, and the hilly and wooded surrounding terrain were hampering rescue efforts, though about 25 to 30 ambulances were on the scene. Visibility was less than 1.8 miles (3 km) at the time of the crash, CNN meteorologist Jennifer Delgado said, with clouds and light rain throughout the region. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Air India Airliner Down In Mangalore. At Least 60 Feared Dead Reports Indicate The Airplane Overshot The Runway On Landing An Air India Express B737-800 carrying 167 passengers, including 4 infants, and 6 crew has overshot the runway on landing at Mangalore airport, and at least 60 people are feared dead, though details are sketchy. The accident occurred about 0630 Saturday morning in India. The flight was arriving from Dubai and reportedly overshot the runway on what is described as a "table top" airport located on top of a hill by local media reports. Weather conditions were reported as "poor" at the time of the accident. Multiple media sources including the newspaper "The Hindu" report that the airplane went down in a wooded valley about 10 kilometers beyond the airport that is relatively inaccessible. However fire crews have reportedly reached the scene. Early reports were that 160 were feared lost in the accident, and one source claimed villagers had rescued 6 people from the accident scene. The Times of India reports that the aircraft hit a fence and went beyond the boundary wall of the airport, with the left wing catching fire. S N A Zaidi, Director-General of the Civil Aviation Directorate (DGCA) said the agency had received "only preliminary reports regarding the accident." ANN will update this story as more details become available. FMI: www.dgca.gov.in Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Status: Preliminary Information Date: 22 MAY 2010 Time: 06:30 Type: Boeing 737-8HG(WL) Operator: Air India Express Registration: VT-AXV C/n / msn: 36333/2481 First flight: 2007-12-20 (2 years 5 months) Engines: 2 CFMI CFM56-7B27 Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: 6 Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: 160 Total: Fatalities: 160 / Occupants: 166 Airplane damage: Written off Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Mangalore-Bajpe Airport (IXE) (India) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Dubai Airport (DXB/OMDB), United Arab Emirates Destination airport: Mangalore-Bajpe Airport (IXE/VOML), India Flightnumber: 812 Narrative: A Boeing 737-800 passenger plane, operated by Air India Express, was destroyed when it crashed while landing at Mangalore-Bajpe Airport (IXE), India. The airplane, operating as Air India Express flight IX812 had left Dubai Airport (DXB) on an international passenger flight to Mangalore. Local media reports indicate that there were 160 passengers and 6 crew members on board. Preliminary reports suggest that the airplane overran the runway and slid down a ravine, bursting into flames. Six survivors have been found, and 70 bodies have been recovered as of 11:25 local time. www.aviation-safety.net [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103427123895&s=6053&e=00110_CwGRqptXJkaz41UfYRO3tPzii4aE0_ztZVZafepfGbl3qTjBaeFUbkdKS9HMXGKoClkx927lQgncO3mREeJbC1xlSFZrwF_YDP4wMDu5fUvnSp_A6OzE34sym-Ai1] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC