Sponsorship Link
India's Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said human error might have led to the crash of Air India Boeing 737-800 aircraft but refused to pinpoint the cause that left 158 killed and 8 injured.
Since there was no emergency call from the cockpit nor any disturbances in weather at the time of landing, "You can't rule out a human error factor, but I do not want to speculate on the cause," Patel told local TV channels.
Investigators have so far retrieved the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) from the wreckage but their search is on for the crucial Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) to ascertain what went wrong in Saturday’s crash.
The CVR and the Digital Flight Data Acquisition Unit, which record cockpit conversation and technical details, have been traced from the debris of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. CVR and DFDR are together called the ‘Black Box’.
Must Read
Airline officials had earlier claimed the DFDR too had been recovered but retreated later saying search for it was still on.
Follow us
A forensic team from Hyderabad arrived to help investigate the cause of the air crash and conduct DNA tests on victims of the accident whose bodies were charred beyond recognition. A four-member US forensic team also arrived to help in the investigation.
Aviation experts have, meanwhile, raised their concerncs about Mangalore's 'table-top' runway, which leaves little room to correct an error by pilots.
Earlier on Sunday, a flight from Dubai landed at the airport in Mangalore. Though relatives of passengers coming by subsequent flights had their moments of anxiousness, flights have started operating normally.
"The flight schedules are normal and there is no indication of cancellations in Mangalore-bound aircraft," said Shankar Mohan, air traffic manager of Mangalore airport on Sunday.
Mangalore Airport is preferred by those who want to take flights to West Asia destinations.
