The National news Channels on the idiot box yesterday had a field day, gleefully playing the tape over and over again of how an Air-India flight from Kochi to Bangalore just refused to take off because of ‘technical snag’ as the passengers were informed. Some of them, snoopy ones discovered that the pilot had ‘fallen ill’ and there was none to ferry them to their destination. What I liked best in this sordid drama was the anchor sheepishly throwing a rhetorical question at anyone who was idle enough to sit glued to the screen whether a large national airline could not find a SINGLE pilot to take the place of the ‘sick man’!! So I present one more failed attempt by rookies at the controls of a large aircraft after meeting the best qualification of all- their fathers were there before them…..
Reproduced is the following published in ‘The Indian Currents’
On the Wings of Hope and Prayer……
In a country like India where consumers routinely bear the brunt of official apathy without a murmur, rarely do we hear or read about incidents that should otherwise be making headlines. If consumers, passengers and patients raise their voices and speak of the injustices and unfair practices of the ‘Chalta Hai’ attitude of India, there is a ray of hope that things just might improve!
If you think that the Air-India Express crash in Mangalore has been consigned to the annals of History, you are sadly mistaken because the long term impact of it is still creating hic-cups in the air travel in that part of the country as seen in this incident I experienced. Apparently all official efforts at the time of the crash were directed towards a temporary cover-up, with no repair and restoration attempted till today. Mangalore airport cannot hope for more than its share of publicity for a day or two, certainly not any upgrading and now it seems to be a forgotten past with no future! This incident is placed in the public glare only to create awareness of the sad plight of air travelers.
The twelfth of June saw us safely in the skies once again, flying towards that picturesque city of my birth and childhood and the smells and sounds of wet earth, gurgling rivers, swaying palms and tiny tiled cottages seen from the air growing into huge sprawling homesteads on the ground. To cap it all, the ride into town in Chandra’s old Amby and finally a warm hug from the person awaiting my arrival so anxiously. Soaring into the clear skies at noon on that beautiful Saturday, any thoughts were far from any disaster or trouble but focused on the joys of forthcoming days. The thought of reunion with a treasured member of the family and the prospect of pitter patter of raindrops on my head as I walked under the canopy of green behind the house lifted my spirits sky-high. Flying into Mangalore is a thrilling experience as any ‘native’ will tell you!
When there is a picturesque airport like Mangalore coming into view like a patchwork quilt of greens and blues, even the most timid flyer forgets his fear of flying! But what happens when the picturesque patch of nature fails to turn up under the belly of the aircraft and all one can see is swirling mists of threatening clouds, a churning cauldron that seems to have swallowed the land below?
The landing preparation seems to go on for ages after the announcement. Sensing trouble, the murmur of voices within the aircraft gradually subsided into a deafening silence. The uncertainty seemed to stretch forever…….minutes into a half hour……neither landing, nor announcement. Ultimately we were told that we had been circling the city for the past half hour and no clearance to land had been given by the ATC, the reason being that visibility was down to 3,600 feet and the Instrument Landing System (ILS) at Mangalore airport was not functioning! We remembered that the same ILS was damaged by the wing of the Air-India aircraft during the recent crash! Was it still not attended to…?
An instrument landing system (ILS) is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), such as low ceilings or reduced visibility due to fog, rain, or blowing snow. To cut a long story short we landed back in Mumbai nearly 4 hours after we had hopefully boarded for a one hour flight at the same airport!
Now it is reckoning time.
1. As announced by the captain if two earlier flights had been diverted from Mangalore to Goa and Mumbai, due to the same trouble, why did this flight take off at all?
2. How long will it take for the ILS to be repaired and get it functioning to aid landing during such inclement weather?
3. Knowing that Mangalore experiences such weather conditions during monsoon which had already set in, why was the ILS not attended to with haste?
4. Can any compensation reduce the pain, trauma, wasted time and resources of the passengers at Mumbai and Mangalore, and those waiting to receive the old and infirm at the airports?
5. What about the loss to the Airline incurred through such empty flights? Will the passengers bear the brunt of another fare increase shortly?
6. When insignificant developments regarding political leaders are given prime space, how come no media reported on the missing ILS in Mangalore?
7. Lastly it can be safely surmised that such incidents occurring with alarming regularity go unnoticed maybe till a tragic repetition of the air-India brings the lax system to its knees. But how many more lives have to be sacrificed for this cause?
Educating oneself about such incidents provides more options to the consumers/passengers. It is time we bonded together and arm ourselves with more choices……..
- Vera Alvares
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