Serb pilots defend Air India Express crash pilot

Pilots questioned the role of the First Officer and the Co-pilot in the Air India express plane crash that killed 158 passengers.

The Air India Express flight from Dubai to Mangalore on May 22 overshot the runway killing 158 people instantly. Only eight people survived the crash.

While an Indian panel investigating the incident had blamed the Serbian pilot Zlatko Glusica, for his late reaction and failure to follow many standard operating procedures during the landing, Serbian Pilots Association has blamed pilot fatigue caused by working conditions for the mishap.

“What was the First Officer doing all the while? The non-handling pilot should take over the control if he or she thinks there’s going to be a crash, instead of sitting like a robot,” said one pilot.

The decoded voice recorders reveled that the First Officer called for a go around three times, and the captain failed to do so.

“He should have taken over the controls, provided he was experienced and had the confidence to do so,” said another pilot.

A Court of Inquiry probe concluded that Glusica was asleep for much of the three-hour flight and was "disorientated" when the plane started to descend.

Serbian Pilots Association said the pilot alone must not be "victimised" because the accident could have happened due to the fatigue caused by "pressures" while working in India.

"The individualisation of guilt ... is intended to shift the responsibility from those who have driven the crew and the passengers to death," the group said in a statement.

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