812 Foundation demands fresh probe into Mangalore air crash

812 Foundation demands fresh probe into Mangalore air crash

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Feb 2, 2014: The 812 Foundation  which  is not happy with the Court of Inquiry findings on the 2010 Air India Express crash at Kenjar near the Mangalore airport,  has demanded a re-investigation into the  case.

Yeshwanth Shenoy, the President of the Foundation who spoke to reporters here on February 1, Saturday  said the Court of Inquiry led by Air Marshal Bhushan Nilkanth Gokhale has failed to  expose the true reasons  behind the air  crash. He alleged the report had tried to shield the Airport Authority of India as far as the illegal structure at the end of the runway was concerned and also the failure of the Fire Tender vehicles and rescue teams to  rush to the scene of the crash soon after the mishap.

 

 

Shenoy also strongly felt that as many as 158 lives would not have been lost, had the safety norms been in place and strictly adhered to. “As against rules that the radar at an airport should be a frangible object which breaks down in case an aircraft brushes past it, the radar at the Mangalore airport was positioned on a concete platform. The construction was  within 180 meters of the Runway Safety Area which is also not permissible,” he argued.

He also stated that the safety threats at the airport though had been brought to the notice of the officials and courts since 1997, it was of no use. He also referred to a petition filed by Arthur Pereira, a local resident in 1997 expressing fears that any aircraft which over-runs the runway would land down the hillside. However the petition was dismissed in 1997 and 2003, Shenoy recalled.  Even the special leave petition in Supreme Court was dismissed, he further said.

Shenoy also demanded strict adherence of safety norms at airports and   stressed the need for a thorough enquiry into the cause of the Mangalore air crash and punishment to those  found guilty in the case.