Kozhikode Plane Crash: AAIB Forms 5-Member Panel To Investigate Accident; Report Likely In 5 Months

Captain SS Chahar will be the investigator-in-charge to inquire into the circumstances of the August 8 accident which left 18 dead and many injured.

(File Photo/PTI)

New Delhi: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) on Thursday formed a five-member panel to carry out a detailed investigation into the tragic Air India Express plane crash at Karipur international airport in Kozhokode that left 18 passengers dead and many more critically injured.  A PTI report quoted the board statement which said "The investigator-in-charge will complete its inquiry and submit the report to AAIB, India, preferably within five months from the date of the issue of this order." As per the official order, Captain SS Chahar will be the investigator-in-charge to inquire into the circumstances of the August 8 accident. Chahar is a a former designated examiner on B737NG (aircraft). He will reportedly be assisted by four other investigators. Last week, the Kerala police on Sunday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to carry out a detailed investigation into the tragic plane crash. The Kerala government in release stated that a case has been registered under various provisions of the Aircraft Act and Indian Penal Code sections 337, 338 and 304 A, based on the statement by one of the CISF personnel who was on Airport Periphery security duty near the site that day. Section 337 of IPC deals with causing hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life, or the personal safety of others. Section 338 deals with causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others, while 304 A deals with causing death by negligence. Eighteen people including both the flight pilots were killed and many got critically injured when the Air India Express flight flying in from Dubai with 190 passengers on board skidded off the table top runway while landing in Kozhikode Airport amid heavy rains and nosedived into a deep gorge 35 feet below, splitting the plane into two portions on Friday night.