Praful Patel to PM: No tyre burst, human error caused plane crash

Prime minister (PM) Manmohan Singh is understood to have been informed that the Mangalore air crash was due to “human error” and there was “no tyre burst” at touchdown.

Civil aviation minister Praful Patel, who is keeping PM posted on the progress of the investigation into the tragedy, is reported to have also told him that not a single piece of tyre was found on the runway.

Z Glusica, the British pilot of Serbian origin, was capable of landing the Boeing 737-800 on an airstrip of even 4,000 feet. He had done it before. The pilot and co-pilot were so experienced that they could have landed easily even if they had jumped more than 3,000 feet while landing.

However, a team of Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials camping in Mangalore informed the government that the pilot not only overshot the runway but also made fatal split-second errors while trying to take off again after realising that he won’t be able to control the aircraft after applying brakes. The senior pilot was “disoriented while landing” because in touchdown conditions a split second can cause havoc, the officials said.

Patel met PM on Saturday evening after visiting the crash site and set up a monitoring room to keep the prime minister’s office (PMO) posted on the progress of the probe. He spoke to PM again on Sunday morning before leaving for Mumbai.

PM is holding a press conference on Monday morning and is sure to face disturbing questions on the Mangalore air crash, particularly after reports that Indian air space remained a dangerous place for air travellers.

DGCA, which regulates the aviation sector, has shared its initial findings with the government. It has said that neither air traffic control (ATC) nor the length of the Mangalore airstrip or weather conditions could be the cause of the crash.

A DGCA team led by its chief is camping in Mangalore to piece together every bit of information. The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder have already been recovered.

DGCA officials extensively questioned the ATC and fire safety staff (which moves along a aircraft when it lands) at the airport on Saturday morning and prepared a chronological account of what happened. It was on the basis of these findings that Patel rushed to Delhi and handed over a four-page report to PM.

When contacted, the civil aviation minister declined comment on the probable cause of the crash and his report to PMO, saying an inquiry was on and it would be premature on his part to say anything.

Considering the rising number of human errors in air crashes, DGCA has been revising its guidelines regularly.

But after more than a dozen near-misses and accidents in the recent past, the government may have to tighten regulations further and insist on more training to even expert pilots on split-second reactions.