Claims of 62 families of Mangalore crash victims settled: Ravi

New Delhi, Aug 4: Claims of compensation with families of 62 passengers of Mangalore air crash have been settled and nearly Rs 70 lakh paid to them, the government told the Parliament on Wednesday.

The settlement has been according to the Montreal Convention and Carriage by Air (Amendment) Act and a compensation of one lakh special drawing rights (equivalent to Rs 70 lakh) have been paid to them.

"In some cases, where the amount of compensation was below one lakh SDR, the family members have not accepted the claims and instead preferred a judicial intervention," Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said in a written reply.

He said, as per the Carriage by Air (Amendment) Act the compensation is paid an amount of special drawing rights 1,00,000, which is calculated on proof of loss basis.

Ravi, however, said that airline has settled interim compensation in each and every case in record time.

Last month, the Kerala High Court directed Air India to pay Rs 75 lakh to each to the family of 158 passengers who died in last year's Mangalore air crash. The court held that the carrier was liable to pay no fault liability of one lakh SDR, a special currency issued by IMF which is apart from whatever other compensation the kin of the victims are entitled to.

There were 166 people on board the flight IX-892, piloted by a Serbian national. Operating the Boeing 737-800, the pilot had first tried to land and later attempted to gain altitude.

The Mangalore crash was the first major plane accident in the country on an international route since the ratification of the Montreal Convention by India. The 1999 Convention, which lays down the guidelines and compensation standards for passengers in an international plane accident, became effective for India from June 30, 2009.

Ravi also said the Court of Inquiry, formed to ascertain the reasons of crash, had given 45 recommendations which are at the various stages of implementation.

PTI