Mayan Kutty is one of the eight survivors of the Air India Express flight from Dubai which crashed in Mangalore in 2010. Jaime Puebla / The National
Mayan Kutty is one of the eight survivors of the Air India Express flight from Dubai which crashed in Mangalore in 2010. Jaime Puebla / The National
Mayan Kutty is one of the eight survivors of the Air India Express flight from Dubai which crashed in Mangalore in 2010. Jaime Puebla / The National
Mayan Kutty is one of the eight survivors of the Air India Express flight from Dubai which crashed in Mangalore in 2010. Jaime Puebla / The National

Three years on, memories of crash of Air India's Dubai flight still haunt


Ramola Talwar Badam
  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // Three years after his infant son died along with 157 others on the Air India Express flight from Dubai that crashed in Mangalore, Shafqat Mahamood grapples with bittersweet memories and heartbreak.

The birth last month of a daughter brought him joy but was also a reminder of the brief time he had with his eight-month-old son.

His wife, son and two aunts died when Flight 812 overshot the runway on May 22, 2010. They were travelling to India for a family wedding.

“It has changed me,” Mr Mahamood said. “I’m not same person I used to be.

“God has given me a beautiful daughter and I will take care of her. I hope she stays with me lifelong, but then I had the same expectation for my son.”

Mr Mahamood, an information technology manager who was born and raised in the UAE, remarried last year. He will spend quiet time in prayer next week to remember his loved ones.

“In life you cannot guarantee anything,” said Mr Mahamood, whose supportive family and friends helped him get through.

“I must have the strength to cope with living like everyone else is doing. My daughter’s first eight months will be a reminder of my son. My wife understands what I’ve been through. But the past is past and I should not be disturbing others with it.”

The tragedy also haunts Mayan Kutty, one of eight crash survivors, who works for a real-estate company in Umm Al Quwain.

“Until I die, I will remember the children and women screaming and see the flames,” he said. “My hand shakes when I hear the sounds. I pray these images will go away.”

Mr Kutty’s anxiety prevented him from boarding a plane for six months after the crash and he has never returned to southern India’s Mangalore airport.

He flies instead to neighbouring Calicut airport even though it is a longer journey to his hometown, Kannur.

“To get on a plane is difficult because I think I will die,” he said. “I still can’t understand why I survived. I can never be happy on May 22 because so many people died.

“I thank God for saving me and ask Him to help the families of those who died.”

Relatives appear resigned to a prolonged wait for a compensation verdict from India’s highest court because of the country’s slow judicial system. Air India paid 1.15 billion rupees (Dh76.4 million) in compensation claims last year.

But families have sought compensation as per the Montreal Convention, which India has signed and ratified.

The convention requires airlines to pay compensation to families of 100,000 Special Drawing Rights, which are a mix of currency values established by the International Monetary Fund, per passenger. In this case, it is equal to 7.5m rupees (Dh535,295).

India’s Supreme Court adjourned a hearing scheduled for last month to November to give the federal government time to respond to the interpretation of its legislation on the Montreal Convention.

Abdul Razak, a member of the Mangalore Air Crash Victims Association, said he hoped the verdict would be pronounced within a year. “Two to three judges were transferred,” Mr Razak said. “I don’t think the intention is to delay but it is being postponed due to technicalities. It may take six months to a year for a judgment.”

Dubai resident Abdul Rahman, who lost his son and wife in the crash, also hoped for clarity.

“It is being treated as a special case and should be cleared within a year,” said Mr Rahman, an operations manager with a shipping company.

Sanjay Hegde, the victims’ lawyer in the Supreme Court, said the case was adjourned to give India’s civil aviation ministry time to respond.

“The case involves interpretation of a section of the Air Carriage Act that is based on the Montreal Convention,” Mr Hegde said.

"When any central government legislation has to be interpreted, they [the government] have to be heard. It is giving them opportunity to reply."

pkannan@thenational.ae

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Scores in brief:

Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

While you're here
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE SQUAD

Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Ahmed Raza, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Chirag Suri , Zahoor Khan

if you go

The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.

The trip 

Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.

The biog

Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling

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Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

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THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

Mica

Director: Ismael Ferroukhi

Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani

3 stars

The specs

Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder

Transmission: 7-speed auto

0-100kmh 2.3 seconds

0-200kmh 5.5 seconds

0-300kmh 11.6 seconds

Power: 1500hp

Torque: 1600Nm

Price: Dh13,400,000

On sale: now

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Scorecard:

England 458 & 119/1 (51.0 ov)

South Africa 361

England lead by 216 runs with 9 wickets remaining

ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY

Starting at 10am:

Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang

Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)

Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)

Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera 

Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas

HEADLINE HERE
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  • That's about it
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017

Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free

Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)

Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)

Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Porsche Macan T: The Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo 

Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm 

Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm 

Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto 

Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec 

Top speed: 232kph 

Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km 

On sale: May or June 

Price: From Dh259,900  

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

MO
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Company%20Profile
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.