DGCA begins probe into aircraft skidding at Mangaluru airport; plane moved to apron
Mangaluru, Jul 2: A team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has commenced its probe into the Air India Express flight from Dubai skidding off the taxiway at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) here two days ago, airport sources said on Tuesday.
The aircraft was towed to the apron (parking area) of the terminal building on Monday, a day after the incident, they said.
The plane with 186 passengers and six crew on board skidded off the main taxiway and got stuck in an unpaved portion Sunday evening while proceeding to the terminal, reportedly due to high speed and wet runway conditions.
However, the passengers and crew on board were safely deplaned at the spot using a ladder platform.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had sent its team to probe the incident, the sources said.
Air India Express (AIE) engineers with the help of the Airports Authority of India personnel retrieved the aircraft and towed it to the apron during a lean period in the airports operations on Monday, they said.
Airport Director V V Rao said the AIE engineers are examining the aircraft for its airworthiness.
Apparently, there was no damage to the aircraft after it veered off the taxiway, he said.
The incident evoked memories of the air tragedy at the same airport on May 22, 2010 when an Air India Express flight from Dubai overshot the tabletop runway and plunged into a gorge, killing 152 of the 160 passengers and all six crew members.
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Kerala HC stays single judge order putting on hold release of 'The Kerala Story 2' film
Kochi (PTI): The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed for two weeks its single judge's interim order putting on hold for 15 days the release of 'The Kerala Story 2-Goes Beyond' film.
A bench of justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P V Balakrishnan passed the order on the appeal moved by the film's producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah late Thursday night, hours after the movie's release was stayed.
The bench had reserved order in the appeal on Thursday night.
The detailed order is awaited.
Shah in his appeal had claimed that the film does not harm or denigrate the state of Kerala or any religious community.
"The film only portrays a social evil," his lawyers had told the court.
Shah had also contended that if the film's release was put on hold, it would "financially finish" the producers as the movie is set to be screened in 1,500 theatres in India and over 300 abroad on February 27.
The single judge had stayed the release of the film on the ground that prima facie there was a manifest non-application of mind to the requirement of law by the censor board, CBFC.
The judge also said that "the possibility of communal disharmony or denigration of a community also being prima facie involved in the movie", its release without scrutiny by the higher authorities would be legally improper.
The court had further said that the content of the film's teaser has "a prima facie potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony".
