Air India Plane Crash Kills 158
Posted May 22, 2010 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There are only eight survivors after an Air India plane crashed just outside Mangalore, with 166 people on board Saturday.
The plane, coming from Dubai, was trying to land at the southern Indian airport of Bajpe which is considered one of the world’s most difficult around 6am local time. But it overshot the runway, crashed into a cliff and burst into flames, according to officials.
On board were 160 passengers and six crew members. All were Indian nationals.
One of the few survivors, a man who suffered burns to his hands and face says it seemed like one of the plane’s tires burst after landing.
“There was a loud bang, and the plane caught fire,” said Ummer Farook Mohammed.
By Saturday afternoon in India, the eight survivors were being treated in a local hospital and rescue workers had pulled 146 bodies from the rubble.
India’s aviation minister shows the cockpit records shows the plane was operating normally prior to the crash. The plane’s pilot had more than 10,000 hours of flying experience, including 26 landings at Bajpe airport.
This crash is India’s deadliest since November 1996, when a Saudi airliner and a Kazakh cargo plane collided midair near New Dehli, killing 349 people.
With Files From The Associated Press
