A day after an Air India Express flight crashed in Mangalore while landing, leaving 158 killed, the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil), which runs Air India, today announced interim compensation for the family of the deceased and those injured in the mishap.
Air India Express is the low-cost subsidiary of Air India.
Air India has announced Rs 10 lakh as interim compensation to family members of each of the deceased who were above 12, and Rs 5 lakh for the deceased who were less than 12 years. The state-owned carrier will also give an interim compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the eight survivors.
Nacil Chairman and Managing Director Arvind Jadhav said the interim compensation would be deducted from the final insurance settlement. “This is over and above the compensation announced by the Prime Minister and the state government,” he added.
Referring to the insurance amount, Jadhav said in accordance with international norms, the compensation could go up to Rs 75 lakh.
“The airline is in various stages of discussions with insurers like Reliance and General Insurance Corporation, to settle the claims of those people who lost their lives in the accident,” the Nacil chief added.
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The state-owned carrier doesn’t see any impact on its low-cost subsidiary in spite of Saturday’s crash, the worst in over a decade. Rather, Air India was considering expanding its fleet on its West Asia-South India route, as there was a growing demand, Jadhav, who reached Mangalore yesterday immediately after the crash, told reporters here today.
“We have new aircraft in the fleet of Air India Express, along with the most experienced pilots. The standalone incident does not have any bearing on our brand image,” he added.
On Saturday morning, the Mangalore-bound Air India Express flight from Dubai overshot the designated runway and plunged into a steep valley, leaving 158 of the 166 people onboard dead. The eight survivors are being treated at various hospitals in the city and their condition is said to be stable.
The company has also set up trauma counselling centres in three metros —Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi — for its staff to deal with the tragedy of losing their colleagues.
Jadhav said 128 bodies had been identified and handed over to the relatives, and autopsies was being done on 18 bodies. Twelve bodies were yet to be identified, he added.
The identification process of those bodies that were badly charred have been undertaken by a team of DNA experts from Hyderabad.
Co-pilot was due for promotion
The Nacil chief also said both pilots were experienced and flying after proper rest. H S Ahluwalia, the deceased co-pilot of the ill-fated flight, was due to become a commander pilot by the end of this month. This would have enabled him to fly a plane on his own. Ahluwalia who has got 3,750 hours of flying experience, was due for commandership this month, Nacil CMD Arvind Jadhav said.
“His death was a shock to us. He was not a raw pilot. He was due for commandership this month,” he added. Ahluwalia had 66 landings to his credit at Mangalore airport.