Jat pilot in India crash

Indian plane crash kills scores

Almost 160 people tragically lost their life yesterday when an Air India Express, Boeing B737-800 jet, crashed in the southern Indian city of Mangalore. The aircraft was piloted by Jat Airways captain Zlatko Glušica. Jat’s PR manager confirmed yesterday that Glušica had been working for Air India Express while on temporary leave from Jat. The pilot, who was 55 years old, had 10.000 hours of flying experience and was considered very skilled. He arrived at Air India Express from Jat last year. Since 2007, Jat Airways and Air India have a partnership agreement. Some 20 Jat pilots temporarily work for Air India (and their low cost subsidiary Air India Express). On the other hand, Air India cadets train at the Jat Flight Academy in Serbia. The “B92” network reports that there is a large amount of Serbian pilots working in India’s ever growing aviation industry.

Air India Express said there were 7 survivors among the 160 passengers and 6 crew on board its Boeing B737 jet arriving from Dubai. The plane overshot the hilltop runway as it tried to land and burst into flames in a forested valley beyond, the “BBC” reports. Air India Express began operations about 5 years ago as an offshoot of the state run Air India. The aircraft was less than 3 years old.

Sympathy goes out to all the victims of this horrible accident.