DGCA officials buy 12 suitcases to collect debris from site that could provide vital clues into reasons behind the crash
DGCA officials buy 12 suitcases to collect debris from site that could provide vital clues into reasons behind the crash
After the officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) called off their operations for the day at the crash site on Sunday afternoon, they began hunting for over a dozen suitcases to ferry the crucial evidence collected to Mumbai for further analysis.
The DGCA began the operation to retrieve the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) at 6 am, hours after the district administration declared the area clear of bodies.
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| Hours after the district administration declared the area clear of bodies, DGCA officials began the operation to retrieve the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. |
By 10 pm, on Saturday, the authorities had recovered bodies of 158 of the 166 passengers on board. "We collected over 20 pieces of debris.
We now need suitcases so we can carry all this to Mumbai," said a senior DGCA official.
"Along with the CVR, we also picked up different cockpit equipment to ascertain the actual cause of the crash," explained A K Chopra, director, DGCA.
AI's response to the crashAir India today delayed its flight from Mangalore to Mumbai to ensure that co-pilot, Ahluwalia's family could take the flight along with his body, which was not released due to the special post-mortem that needs to be done on pilots when there is a plane crash.
Air India is also deploying additional flights to ferry family members of passengers and crew to Mangalore.
The airline has already kept one aircraft on stand-by in Mumbai. The airlines' emergency response team is on duty at the Mangalore for the last 48 hours.
Local Coordination Centres have also been set up at Mangalore airport and the city.
One Special Assistance Team member, Angels of Air India, has been assigned to each survivor and to the families of the deceased to assist them.
Kenyon, an international agency for emergency response and rescue operations will extend their support at Mangalore.
