Mangalore runway still ‘short’ on safety

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Mangalore airport’s ‘short runway’, which came under intense scrutiny following the crash of Air India IX-812, still remains unmodified.

Though the then Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel, declared that the runway would be extended from the present 8,000 feet to 9,000 feet, and thereby provide Mangalore Airport with an ‘international’ status, nothing has been done.

Mr Patel first made the statement while inaugurating the new terminal building of Mangalore airport on May 15, a week before the disaster that killed 158 people. He even reiterated his statement after the crash. But the ‘short’ runway remains.

“The runway is safe for aircraft landing in Mangalore. But if the runway has to be extended then there is a need to acquire about 50 to 60 acres of land. The state government had assured us money for Mangalore airport. If this amount can be used for land acquisition, then the expansion work will be easier,” said an official from the Airports Authority of India.

“The airport has been asked to extend the runway. In order to do this, however, the present land area available with the airport is not enough. There is a need to fill the valley and then extend the runway for which the state government should acquire land and provide it to the airport,” the officer added.

My life is over: Crash survivor

It is one year since the incident took place but I can still remember the sound of the plane crashing into the valley, the screams of the passengers, and me jumping out of the plane. Even now the incident gives me sleepless nights,” remembers Pradeep Kotian, one of the survivors of Air India Express IX-812 which crashed minutes after landing at Mangalore in the wee hours of May 22, 2010.

The disaster claimed the lives of 158 people, and left eight survivors.

Mangaloreans are observing the anniversary of the crash, which is one of the worst disasters to have taken place in the city.

“The incident will keep haunting me till my death. Only those who have undergone this trauma will understand the pain,” Mr Kotian told Deccan Chronicle at his home in Tanir Bavi.

Pradeep was working in Dubai, but was on his way to Mangalore to attend his brother’s wedding when the aircraft crashed. He survived but sustained an injury to his hand that still hurts him.

It took him more than six months to recover, and in that time his UAE visa lapsed. His mother is scared to send her son abroad these days.

Though Air India officials assured survivors a job, they are still waiting it. Thus, Mr Kotian is now unemployed and has been for nearly a year.

“I have no job. But I cannot sit idle at home. So I am doing some small jobs with my friends,” Mr Kotian says.

“I had good job in Dubai and had lot of dreams for my future. But the crash put a full stop to everything. Now I don’t know what my future is,” he adds.

Mr Kotian says that even the promise of compensation from Air India has not been fulfilled. “I have got only `2 lakh from Air India and `50,000 from the state government. It is like giving compensation to a person who met with a bicycle accident,” Mr Kotian said.