Mangalore : Search Continues for Plane's Digital Flight Data Recorder


Mangalore : Search Continues for Plane's Digital Flight Data Recorder

Pics by Dayananda Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, May 24 (IANS) Teams of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and police Monday resumed their search for the digital flight data recorder, a part of the black box, of the Air India Express plane that crashed here Saturday, killing 158 people.

The teams had late Sunday recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and a part of the black box containing the digital flight data acquisition unit (DFDAU).

In aviation parlance, black box is a loose term used for two pieces of equipment -- the digital cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder -- that give crucial inputs to investigators on causes of air accidents.

One device digitally records all conversations inside the cockpit and those with the air traffic controllers. The other has the history of the aircraft's flight details, such as acceleration, engine thrust, airspeed, altitude, rudder position, which are also vital for crash probes.






The cockpit voice recorder of the crashed plane has been affected by fire but it is expected to yield the desired information, according to a DGCA statement.

Though the DFDAU, a parallel unit of the digital flight data recorder, which records flight parameter for shorter duration has also been recovered, search for the latter is continuing, the statement said.

"Analysis of CVR and flight data will be conducted in the next fortnight. Similarly, analysis of records pertaining to the crash will take a couple of weeks," a probe official told IANS, citing the statement.

AI Express flight IX 812 burst into flames after falling over a cliff early Saturday and most of the 158 victims, including 19 children and four infants, were charred to death. The Boeing overshot the runway on landing at Bajpe airport, about 20 km from here.

All six crew members of the flight also perished in the disaster. The eight survivors are being treated in various hospitals in the city.

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Comment on this article

  • Praful, Mangalore, India

    Mon, May 24 2010

    A Boeing 737 with a maximum landing weight requires 6,000-ft of runway for landing. For take off too, it requires 6,000 feet but that is based on several factors such as weight, wind, temperature and runway conditions.

    “Mangalore airport has a 8,000-ft-long runway. The pilots of that plane may not have had sufficient landing distance if they touched down late with high speed,’’ he said.

    Although it is possible to take off even after the wheels touch down the procedure is difficult and is carried out usually during training flights.

    This is because the plane’s auto brakes and speed brakes get deployed immediately. To quote a senior commander - “It is not recommended to do a go around if the plane’s deceleration procedures have been initiated’’.

    So, if the AI plane had already overshot the Landing zone and 25% of the runway was lost and the very fact that the airport has a short landing strip - the "go around" should not have been tried at all - because when landing the pilots may have also tried to slow down the engines - thus reducing chances of a take off again, but unfortunately a re take off was tried and now the tower or light pole hit the wing further sealing the destiny.

    There is another important question - were the tyres and braking systems checked while leaving Dubai? It seems the tyres and breaking systems of Air India are always faulty and Delhi and Mumbai always has a lot of "emergency landings" especially for Air India flights.
    God bless families.

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  • Alex Correa, Shirva / dubai

    Mon, May 24 2010

    Expected end result of investigation: Black box taken away by villagers!!!and untraceable
    CVR partly burnt.Well I am sure recorders at ATC must have been d accidentally.Hence No blame to ATC and Cockpit crew. How come the conversation between crew and ATC was not made available to media?
    Well End result: Compansation and close the accident investigation
    For this reason INDIA needs a Independant Investigation body Jai Hind

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  • Walter and Veronica Lobo, Bajpe/BOSTON USA

    Mon, May 24 2010

    At this point we are all speculating the cause and mechanics of the accident. No one knows what the Pilot did or did not. We must understand that pilot was also trying save his life. What is clear is: the touchdown which should have taken place within 900 feet where the runaway begins, instead touch down took place after crossing 50% of the runaway of 8000 ft. Thus 4000 ft runway is NOT sufficient to abort or take off, thereis not enough time to build reverse thrust or forward take off speed within 4000ft. There was NOT enough length either to abort the landing or to take off- it was too late, the condition went beyond pilot's situational awareness and the plane took off with 162 soules with it.


    We can not afford to have another accident at IXE. There should be STANDING ORDER to the pilots if touchdown doesnot take place within the 900 feet of the begining of the runway, abort the landing and he must re-attempt the landing.

    Airport Authority must extend the runaway by at least 2000 ft on either direction to have a 12000 feet runway, which would provide safe spillage.

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  • Bulsam, Mangalore

    Mon, May 24 2010

    I feel that seconds before touchdown, within the Touch Down Zone, the gushing tail wind made the plane lose height very fast, the pilot panicked and tried to align the glide path and at this fraction of a second the plane shot off the Touch Down Zone simultaneously the he took a wrong decision of taking a Round About which was a little too late. By then the plane’s wheel had banged the runway, the impact had burst the left tyre and the wing in that side dangerously came to the ground level and hit the ILS instrument.

    In this process of violent takeoff the plane shot into the valley, crashed into the trees, jumped the road below and landed between the road and the rail track. The speedy impact tore of the fuselage and broke the plane from the middle and caught fire. The lucky few escaped from the broken crack within seconds and one Ismail was thrown out and those lucky seven of them miraculously escaped death.

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