Pilot error led to Air India Express crash in Kerala last year: Probe report on Kozhikode plane crash

New Delhi, Sep 11: Pilot's non-adherence to standard operating procedure resulted in the Air India Express Boeing 737 crash at Kozhikode airport in August last year.

The probable cause of the accident was non-adherence to the standard operating procedure by the pilot flying the aircraft but the role of systemic failures as a contributory factor cannot be overlooked, the 257-page report said.

The crash of Air India Express''s B737-800 aircraft happened on August 7 at the Kozhikode airport in Kerala. The plane coming from Dubai had overshot the runway at Kozhikode airport and later broke into pieces. There were 190 people onboard the ill-fated aircraft and at least 20 people, including the two pilots, were killed and several others were injured.

The report, released little over a year after the deadly crash of the Air India Express plane, said the "probable cause of the accident was the non-adherence to SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) by the PF (Pilot Flying)".

The PF continued an unstabilised approach and landed beyond the touchdown zone, "half way down the runway, in spite of ''Go Around'' call by PM which warranted a mandatory ''Go Around'' and the failure of the PM to take over controls and execute a ''Go Around''", it noted.