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bluebird121
This is a link to this story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/10143512.stm

QUOTE
Investigators at the site of Saturday's jet crash in southern India have found the cockpit voice recorder, which may help uncover the cause of the disaster.

They are still searching for the flight data recorder, the other key piece of evidence.

The Air India Express Boeing 737 overshot Mangalore airport's hilltop runway and crashed into a valley, bursting into flames and killing 158.

Eight survivors are being treated in hospital for burns and other injuries.

Funeral services have been held for many of the victims.

Arvind Jadhav, chairman of Air India, told reporters in Mangalore on Sunday that 158 bodies had been recovered but that 12 remained unidentified, burnt beyond recognition.

DNA tests

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder, in the Indian capital Delhi, says doctors are trying to use dental records and other means to identify them.

Continue reading the main story In pictures: India mourns dead

India crash survivors' stories

Shadow cast on India's air record
He adds that team of experts have arrived in Mangalore to take samples for DNA testing, a process which could take days.

Two teams of US investigators, one from the National Transportation Safety Board and the other from aircraft manufacturer Boeing, have been dispatched to help with the crash investigation.

It is India's first major air disaster in nearly 10 years.

All the passengers on the flight from Dubai were Indian nationals, an Air India official said. Many were thought to have been migrant workers in the Gulf emirate.

One man, Samir Sheikh, lost 16 family members who were travelling to India to attend the funeral of his grandmother, according to the Dubai-based newspaper Khaleej Times.

'No distress call'

The few survivors described hearing a loud thud shortly after touchdown.

Umer Farooq spoke to reporters from his hospital bed where he is being treated for burns to his arms, legs and face.

"The plane veered off toward some trees on the side and then the cabin filled with smoke," he said. "I got caught in some cables but managed to scramble out."

Mangalore's airport lies on top of a hill with steep drops at the end of each of its two runways. One of the runways was extended in 2006 to accommodate larger planes like the Boeing 737.

Indian aviation officials said the landing conditions at the time of the crash were fair with good visibility, and that there had been no distress call from the plane's cockpit.

Air India Express is the low-cost arm of the national carrier, Air India.

India's air safety record has been good in the past decade, despite a rapid increase in the number of private airlines and air travel in the country.

The last major crash happened in the city of Patna in July 2000, killing at least 50 people.


My sincere condolances to all the relatives and friends of all those who died. To the injured I hope you recover in time. I will be interested to know what the cause of this crash was.
LearCapt
Sad news indeed.

I was bored earlier on my iPhone and was reading news and saw a report saying they had found both black boxes...hope to hear that's true as well (though in a crash of this type I can't see that being a problem).
ChillSpiller
Again a tragic incidence and my thoughts are with the victims.

As air traffic is still increasing it has been estimated that such a crash will occur every 9 days in the future. Guess we'll have to get used to it icon_cry.gif Never the less it's still the safest way of transport.
bluebird121
QUOTE(ChillSpiller @ May 24 2010, 07:58 PM) *
Again a tragic incidence and my thoughts are with the victims.

As air traffic is still increasing it has been estimated that such a crash will occur every 9 days in the future. Guess we'll have to get used to it icon_cry.gif Never the less it's still the safest way of transport.

Thanks for the reassurance Chill. icon_wink.gif Only 3 weeks until I fly a heck of a long way and back on my own. I just look at it this way. Once you are airborne you are in the lap of God or if you do not believe then it is fate I guess.
ChillSpiller
Erm oops, erm I didn't mean to - well err, don't you worry! Your trip would be a hell of a lot more risky by car icon_wink.gif and ships are boring...
bluebird121
The sooner the cause of the crash is revealed the sooner things can go back be being normal. There seems to be a lot of disruption and ill feeling about the crash. This will cost the airline a lot of money which I am sure it can ill afford to lose in these rather uncertain times for the aviation industry.
This is the link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/10160255.stm

QUOTE
The ailing airline has about 30,000 employees Thousands of Air India passengers have been stranded after a strike by staff in protest at an alleged ban on them speaking about Saturday's air crash.

At least 158 people died in the Air India Express disaster in Mangalore.

Reports say about 100 domestic and international Air India flights have been cancelled after 20,000 ground staff walked out.

Unions say management is banning staff from talking to the media about the crash, a charge the airline denies.

Soon after the accident, some Air India employees alleged that the airline was flouting safety regulations, something the airline also denies.

Flights cancelled on Wednesday include ones from Mumbai (Bombay), Delhi, Calcutta and Bangalore as well as international destinations such as Kathmandu, Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai, reports say.

Talks are expected to be held between the unions and the airline management and the Indian cabinet is also discussing the issue.

Federal aviation minister Praful Patel has called the strike "irresponsible".

'Not going to buckle'

State-run Air India has appealed to its workers to call off their strike, saying it has a "well-established system of dealing with any grievance".

Critics say the strike was 'poorly timed' It said a section of employees had "misinterpreted" an office order issued last year which advises them to "desist from going public with their statements that have the potential of harming the company's revenue earning prospects".

"Any employee violating these norms will render himself liable for disciplinary action," the office order, issued in July 2009, states.

But Union leader Vivek Rao told the AFP news agency the strike would continue.

"We are not going to buckle under pressure... We are asking for the gag order to be removed."

Correspondents say the latest strike action is evidence of the troubles afflicting the loss-ridden airline and friction between management and employees belonging to a dozen unions.

The leader of one of the striking unions, JB Kadian, told the Press Trust of India news agency that another aim of the strike was to "protest the delay in payment of salaries and highlight the problems of the cabin crew".

But not all union leaders back the strike. One head of a crew union said it was poorly timed.

"At a time when we are mourning the death of our colleagues and passengers, it's grossly incorrect," Sanjay Lazar said.

"It's a time for us to heal and move forward. All the bodies have not yet been identified."

'Wake-up call'

Aviation analyst Kapil Kaul said the strike, days after one of the worst accidents in the company's history, "reflects no concern for the organisation".

"It is a wake-up call for the government - the situation is so deep that their continuing inaction could be fatal for the company," Mr Kaul said.

He said that the government had given a $168m (£117m) bailout to the ailing airline and promised $252m (£175m) more.

Analysts say the airline's 30,000 workforce needs to be cut by half to make it competitive. Air India has a fleet of 136 aircraft flying to domestic and international destinations.

Investigators are still trying to find out why the Air India Express Boeing-737 crashed at Mangalore airport.

bluebird121
QUOTE(ChillSpiller @ May 26 2010, 02:41 PM) *
Erm oops, erm I didn't mean to - well err, don't you worry! Your trip would be a hell of a lot more risky by car icon_wink.gif and ships are boring...

icon_thumright.gif It is Ok Chill. I am not bothered at all. icon_wink.gif I have to fly as it is really the only way to get from A to B, and yes there is nothing quite like the sight when you soar above the clouds and look down and it looks like a huge ball of cottonwool. plane.gif
Kilrah
QUOTE(bluebird121 @ May 27 2010, 01:19 AM) *
and yes there is nothing quite like the sight when you soar above the clouds and look down and it looks like a huge ball of cottonwool. plane.gif

You said it!

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