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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PM Modi speaks to Iranian president, discusses 'serious' situation in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone and discussed the "serious situation" in West Asia.
Modi expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions in the region and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure.
The prime minister told the Iranian President that the safety and security of Indian nationals, along with the need for unhindered transit of goods and energy, remain India's top priorities.
“Had a conversation with Iranian President, Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the serious situation in the region. Expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure,” Modi said in a post on X.
The prime minister also reiterated India's commitment to peace and stability and urged dialogue and diplomacy to end the crisis.
The prime minister had spoken to leaders of several West Asian countries in the last 10 days in the wake of the coordinated offensive launched against Iran by the United States and Israel, in which the Islamic country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed last month.
In retaliation, Iran has fired drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations around the Gulf region, including the global business and aviation hubs of Dubai and Doha.
Modi earlier spoke to the leaders of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Israel and Qatar, and expressed concern over the attacks on their countries, and condemned the violation of some nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also discussed the welfare and security of the Indian community residing in those countries.
Around 1 crore Indians live in the Gulf and West Asia. While about 10,000 Indian citizens live, study and work in Iran, more than 40,000 live in Israel.
