M'lore Crash: Air India Clarifies on Capt Glusica's Flight Schedule
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Jun 21: Denying media reports that Air India may have coerced Capt Zlatko Glusica to operate the doomed flight IX812 that crashed in Mangalore last year, the airline officials clarified that the pilot was aware of his schedule well in advance.
Alexander Glusica, the pilot's son had told the media that his father was initially not rostered by Air India to fly on the day of the crash. The schedule was changed at the last minute and Capt Glusica was asked to operate the flight though he was under fatigue, Alexander had claimed.
Capt Glusica had just returned from a vacation Serbia, and according to his roster, was not scheduled to fly till May 23. His son claimed that he was asked to fly the Mangalore-Dubai-Mangalore flight despite the fact that he was recovering from fatigue.
Air India officials refuted the charge, and said that Capt Glusica had landed in Mangalore two days in advance and had enough rest to be ready for the flight.
"The very fact that Capt Glusica was positioned in Mangalore on May 19 shows that he was scheduled to operate flight and he had more than two days clear rest before operating the ill-fated flight," they said.
On the charge that the pilot's family members were not interrogated during the investigation, the officials said that his family had been given several opportunities to appear before the Court of Inquiry both in Mangalore and Delhi, but they never came. They also asserted that the probe had taken into account every little detail and the government too had given its approval.