American aircraft manufacturer Boeing is sending a team to India to provide technical assistance in the investigation of the Air India plane crash in Mangalore which killed 159 people today.
Boeing is sending a team to provide technical assistance to the investigation "at the invitation of the Indian authorities", the city-based commercial aircraft maker said in a statement here.
The aircraft involved in the mishap was a 737-800, the latest range of aircrafts being rolled out by Boeing. "Boeing wishes to express its profound condolences to the friends and family of those lost on Air India Expess Flt. IX-892, as well as its wish for the recovery of those injured," it said.
The flight IX-892 overshot the runway and ploughed into the forest while landing at the Mangalore airport this morning, killing 159 people. According to aviation officials, the aircraft overshot the runway, hit a fence and went beyond the boundary wall of the airport and fell into a cliff.
The ill-fated Boeing 737-800, which was inducted on January 15, 2008, was coming from Dubai. "We will do whatever the government asks us to do," Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar said in Mumbai.
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The crash occurred at around 6.30 am when the plane overshot the newly built runway while landing at the Mangalore airport and caught fire before exploding. The plane broke and smoke billowed from the main fuselage.
The Mangalore airport has been shut following the accident. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will conduct full inquiry into the one of the worst air disasters in the country.
In Singapore, the Foreign Ministry said a hotline has been set up and the situation was being monitored in connection to the crash though so far there are no reports of Singaporeans having been affected by the incident.
The Ministry has set up hotline for Singaporeans to call if there is a possibility that their next-of-kin is on board the ill-fated flight. "Our Missions are in close touch with Air India and the relevant authorities," said the ministry in a statement.