Statement on crash that killed 21 people last year recommends Airport Authority of India improve training of airport rescue and firefighting team.
The two pilots flying Air India Express Boeing 737 were extricated dead an hour after the plane crashed in Kerala’s Kozhikode as the airport rescue and firefighting (ARFF) team was not familiar with the aircraft, research has said.
Air India Express Boeing 737
The pilots, whose error has been blamed for the crash, and 19 others were killed during the aircraft hit a gorge following a runway overrun on August 7, 2020.
The aircraft was returning from Dubai and it carried 184 tourists.
- The investigation report of the August 7, 2020 crash was cleared by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau Director-General Aurobindo Handa on Saturday.
- It has been recommended the airline and Airport Authority of India (AAI) advance their training and recommended more careful maintenance of simulators and runway-end security areas at airports to prevent further accidents.
“The ARRF crew at Kozhikode was unfamiliar with the kind of aircraft which resulted in badly organized rescue services and delayed evacuation of the pilots from the cockpit,” the research statement noted.
- The pilot in command was pulled out of the cockpit by a CISF inspector while the co-pilot was removed by an unfamiliar person and the ARRF organization was not present when the rescue of pilots, it said.
The investigation team has confirmed that AAI must ensure aircraft-familiarisation training is given to all ARRF crew within a defined timeline, in addition to recurrent training as per existing demands.
It has also recommended more careful upkeep and maintenance of the runway end safety area which can help to catch the speed of an aircraft in case of an overrun.
While the investigation concluded that the captain carried out an unstabilized approach and ignored the co-pilot’s call for a go-around, it also pointed a finger at Air India Express management for its lack of supervision in training, operations, and safety practices. This, it said, has resulted in repeated human error accidents.
It has called upon the airline to make better its training especially for landing on a wet runway in tailwind conditions and promote assertiveness of the first officer to take over control and initiate a go-around in case the captain fails to respond.
The civil aviation
The civil aviation regulator has been asked to revise its regulations on flight data monitoring and introduce periodic surveillance of flights at critical and tabletop airports including ‘red eye’ flights.
It has also suggested the Directorate General of Civil Aviation study the feasibility of a child restraint system for the safety of children and infants on board an aircraft. Out of the ten infants on board the Air India Express aircraft, three sustained fatal injuries, three had serious injuries and four escaped unhurt, the report noted.
The report has called for the installation of approach radar. “Kozhikode airport is amongst the ten busiest airports in India, has hilly terrain and experiences extended adverse weather conditions.
Therefore it is recommended for better guidance to the aircraft approach radar be installed at the airport,” it said.
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source : Business standard
