Mangaluru runway overshoot: Air India Express pilot's licence suspended for 1 year
New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday suspended for a year the license of an Air India Express pilot who overshot the runway while landing an aircraft at Mangaluru airport on June 30, sources said.
The flight IX-384 was coming from Dubai.
"The final investigation by the regulator has found that the final approach of the B737 aircraft was 'unstabilised'. The aircraft speed was high and it touched down late, around 900 metres (2,952 feet) from the threshold area of runway 24, which resulted in runway excursion and damage to the aircraft," a source told PTI.
The threshold area is from where the runway strip begins. Next to threshold area is the touchdown zone, where the aircraft should touch down during landing.
The source said the licence of the pilot, Captain Pravin Tumram, was suspended on Tuesday by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for a period of one year.
"The period of one year would be counted from the date of the incident," the source said. The airport had seen a similar incident on that very runway nine years ago involving an aircraft of the same airline.
In May 22, 2010, an Air India Express flight, which was coming from Dubai airport to Mangalore airport, had overshot the runway 24, hit the boundary fence and fell into a gorge, killing 152 passengers and six crew members. There were only eight survivors in this crash.
A Court of Inquiry, established by the Centre had found that the cause of the 2010 incident was the pilot-in-command's failure to discontinue the 'unstabilised approach' and his persistence in continuing with landing, despite three calls from the First Officer to 'go around' and a number of warnings from enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS).
"The final touch down of the aircraft was at about 5200 ft (1584 metres) from the beginning of runway 24, leaving only about 2800 feet to the end of the paved surface, to stop the aircraft," the Court of Inquiry had found.
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15 IAS officers transferred in Haryana
Chandigarh (PTI): The Haryana government transferred 15 IAS officers with immediate effect on Wednesday.
Among those who have been transferred are Vineet Garg, Chairman, Haryana State Pollution Control Board. He has been posted as the additional chief secretary to the government's printing and stationery department, relieving Raja Shekhar Vundru of the charge, a government order said.
Ajay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram, has been transferred and posted as the deputy principal secretary-II to the chief minister against a newly-created post.
Pankaj Agarwal, Principal Secretary, Irrigation and Water Resources Department, has been posted as the principal secretary in the architecture department, relieving Apporva Kumar Singh of the charge.
Saket Kumar, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Commissioner and Secretary, Development and Panchayats Department, has been transferred and posted as the commissioner and secretary in the archives department, relieving Shekhar Vidyarthi of the charge.
Mani Ram Sharma, Registrar, Cooperative Societies, has been posted as the secretary in the health department, relieving Rippudaman Singh Dhillon of the charge.
