Kozhikode: With the US agency joining the investigation into the Karipur plane crash, there is a strong hope that moves from various quarters to destroy the airport in the wake of the crash will fail. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the US Department of Transportation Safety Agency is assisting the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is currently investigating. The Indian Pilot Guild has also taken the position that the real cause of the accident can be ascertained as the agency is also part of the investigation. With this, various commercial organizations that have been standing for the airport for years are assessing that the move to demolish the airport under the guise of danger has been thwarted.
The organizations hope that the arrival of this American agency as a technical advisor will make it clear that the tabletop runway did not play a role in the accident.
With this, the organizations are shifting to the position that the court proceedings demanding the closure of Karipur Airport in the wake of the plane crash will not stand. Commercial organizations are shifting to the position that such cases are just for publicity and do not need to be pursued.
The U.S. agency joins them after a special team from the AAIB launches an investigation. A team comprising AAIB Captain SS Chahar, Deputy Director Jasbir Singh, Operations Specialist Ved Prakash, Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Mukul Bhardwaj, and Aviation Medicine Specialist YS Dahiya has already reached Karipur to begin the investigation. Karipur is the first plane crash investigation since the formation of AAIB. The bureau was set up eight years ago in compliance with the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO. The team is expected to submit a report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation within five months.
It is estimated that the Kerala High Court will be cautious in dealing with such a serious investigation. In the past, there have been judicial inquiries into plane crashes. It is customary to hold a general sitting and take evidence from various quarters and submit a report. But with the U.S. agency cooperating in the investigation to prepare a detailed report on all the technical and human errors that led to the accident, the belief that moves against the airport will fall apart is gaining strength.
