Air India Plane crash: Mayawati salutes pilots, seeks respect for their sacrifice

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, on Saturday, condoled the death of Air India pilots in the plane crash at Kozhikode on Friday. The BSP supremo saluted the valour of both the pilots and urged the Central State governments to give full respect to them for their prime sacrifice. The Air India Express under the Vande Bharat Mission skidded off the runway at Karipur Airport in Kerala on Friday evening. 

"Salute to the unmatched, efficiency, prudence and bravery of the Air India pilots who lost their lives yesterday in Kerala while saving the lives of the 190 passengers aboard. I appeal to the Central and State Governments to give full respect to them for their sacrifice," Mayawati tweeted. 

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Air India arranges relief flights

Three special relief flights have been arranged from Delhi and Mumbai for rendering humanitarian assistance to all the passengers and the family members. Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and Flight Safety Depts reached the accident site to carry out an investigation. Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan also reached the site to review the situation. A probe is underway to ascertain the cause of the mishap. 

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Kozhikode Plane Crash 

As per a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, an Air India Express flight arriving in Kozhikode skidded off the runway and had a crash landing. The runway which is of the tabletop pattern was reportedly waterlogged. The incident took place amid very heavy rainfall in the area around 7:40 PM. There were 191 persons on board including two pilots and 5 cabin crew. 

As per the latest updates, DGCA officials have recovered the Black Box of the crashed plane. Meanwhile, two deceased aboard the flight have been found COVID-19 positive following which rescue teams are slated to under COVID tests. Kerala health Miniter has asked everyone who was involved in the rescue operations to self-quarantine themselves.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has announced a solatium of Rs 10 lakhs for the victims. Offering his condolences, the Chief Minister said, “Apart from the solatium for the victims, the State Government would bear the treatment expenses of all those injured in this unfortunate plane crash irrespective of the hospitals they are in. The Civil Aviation Ministry and other Central Government agencies are expected to announce compensation for the air passengers."

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