Kozhikode: Nearly a year after the plane crash at the Calicut International Airport located at Karipur several survivors and kin of all victims who had pressed for adequate compensation from Air India are still awaiting it. They claim that the airline did not offer adequate compensation and they are eligible for a higher compensation.
There were 184 passengers on board the plane. Twenty-one people, including the pilot and co-pilot, were killed in the plane crash at the Karipur airport on August 7, 2020.
The airlines gave the offer letter of compensation to the 165 injured and the kin of the deceased. The promised amount was transferred to the accounts of those who had accepted this; however, several passengers on that ill-fated flight refused to accept the compensation amount offered by Air India.
Eighty people have accepted the compensation amount offered by the airline. So far, Rs 65.5 crore has been disbursed as compensation.
However, no kin of the deceased passengers have accepted the offer letter. All those who have received the compensation amount are the injured. The company had met with them several times. Those who submitted documents, citing the need for further treatment, received higher amounts.
Centre yet to submit report
The central government is yet to submit the report on the plane crash. Earlier deadlines on submitting the report were not met. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has recently announced that the report will be submitted this month.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is probing the crash. The Air India Express Boeing 737 skidded off the runway while landing and fell into a valley on the evening of August 7, 2020.
As per Rule 14 on the investigation into passenger plane accidents, the opinion of the US-based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also needs to be sought. The report submission got delayed as the inspection with the NTSB took longer due to the Covid pandemic, according to the Ministry.
