A year after the Air India Express crash at Calicut International Airport, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is probing the incident, is yet to submit its investigation report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Sources said that the draft report was being draw up in consultation with the U.S.- based National Transportation Safety Board. The international transportation safety body was appointed the accredited representative and technical advisor to assist the probe.
The consultation process was severely hampered due to a surge in COVID-19 cases and the lockdown. Possibly, the final report would be made public in August, said the sources.
The Boeing 737-800 Air India Express flight 1344 involved in the accident on August 7 last year was part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indian nationals stranded in Dubai due to the pandemic. The accident claimed the lives of 21 persons, including the pilot and co-pilot, and left at least 100 passengers injured and many in critical condition. There were 184 passengers and six crew on board the ill-fated aircraft.
Preliminary reports had pointed to a combination of factors such as torrential rains as the cause of the accident. The narrow-body aircraft had overshot the runway and plunged into a 35-metre gorge.
Operation of big planes
Sources said the AAIB report was crucial for resuming the operation of wide-bodied aircraft at the airport which had a tabletop runway. A team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had inspected the airport to review the wide-bodied aircraft operations that remained suspended from August last.
Previously, the operation of wide-bodied aircraft was banned at the Calicut airport in May 2015 on the basis of the Court of Inquiry report on the Air India Express Boeing 737 crash in Mangaluru in May 2010.
However, the DGCA had allowed the resumption of wide-bodied aircraft at the airport in August 2018 with stringent conditions after airline companies submitted a safety and compatibility study for the operation of wide-bodied aircraft under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines. Air India, Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines), and Emirates had secured approval for operating wide- bodied aircraft.
Compensation for passengers, kin
Meanwhile, Air India is continuing with the processing of distributing compensation to passengers. About ₹65.5 crore has been distributed so far and ₹6.5 crore spent for treating the injured. However, many have not received compensation while some have demanded better compensation. Air India and insurance companies are still holding discussions with the passengers and their relatives.
