Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, May 20: Despite 15 years passing since the tragic Mangaluru plane crash that claimed 158 lives, the mandatory "safety basic strip" at the Mangaluru International Airport—an essential safety measure recommended after the disaster—remains unimplemented.
The Air India Express flight crashed on May 22, 2010, but governments at both the state and central levels have failed to take serious steps to implement the required safety upgrades. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had sought 32.97 acres of additional land in 2015-16 to construct the basic safety strip, which requires a 140-meter-wide buffer zone on either side of the runway. Currently, only one side has the required width, while the other remains incomplete.
The central civil aviation department has repeatedly requested the Karnataka government to allocate land free of cost. However, the state has refused, stating that since the airport is privately managed, the operating company should bear the cost of land acquisition. This administrative deadlock continues to compromise passenger safety.
After the 2010 crash, an investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recommended immediate safety enhancements at the airport. The construction of the safety basic strip was a key recommendation in their report.
What has been done?
– The runway has undergone resurfacing using asphalt, making it more durable—a first-of-its-kind project in India.
– Access roads around the airport, which were previously unavailable during the rescue operations in 2010, have since been developed.
– Runway center lighting has been installed, making the 2,450-meter-long runway more visible to pilots.
– Runway End Safety Areas (RESA), measuring 140 meters long and 90 meters wide at both ends of the runway, are being constructed. One side is already complete, and the other is nearing completion.
Runway expansion still a distant dream
After the crash, the “tabletop runway” design of the airport drew national attention. While a plan to extend the runway to 11,600 feet was drafted in 2013—requiring 280 acres of land and Rs 1,120 crore in funding—it was later scaled down to 10,500 feet due to high costs. Even this has not been realized. The project was further restricted to acquiring just 32.97 acres of land.
The runway expansion proposal remains in limbo, especially after airport management was handed over to a private company. The Karnataka government now claims the responsibility for land acquisition lies with the operator.
15 years since the tragic crash
On May 22, 2010, an Air India Express flight arriving from Dubai overshot the runway and plunged into a gorge, crashing into an antenna tower and breaking apart. Of the 166 people on board—including 135 adults, 19 children, 4 infants, and 6 crew members—158 died. Only 8 survived.
Investigations later revealed that the accident was caused by pilot error, specifically the captain ignoring the co-pilot’s repeated warnings. This tragic incident remains one of the deadliest in India’s civil aviation history.
Despite recommendations and repeated warnings, critical safety enhancements at Mangaluru Airport still hang in uncertainty, leaving thousands of daily passengers vulnerable to the same risks.