An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 aircraft (registration VT-AXV) has crashed at Mangalore, India. The aircraft, operating as Air India Express flight IX812, was arriving at Mangalore (IXE) from Dubai (DXB) at the time of the accident. Early reports say the aircraft overran the runway after landing. The aircraft was completely destroyed, and there was a post-crash fire. The accident happened on May 22,2010 shortly at approximately 06:30 AM local time.News reports from India say there were more than 160 people on board. Media reports also say that up to eight survivors may have been rescued from the crash site and taken to hospitals. Their condition is unknown at this time.
A brief video of the Air India Express crash site has been posted on the BBC News website.
Condolences to the families and friends of the crew members and passengers who lost their lives in this accident.
More to follow as additional information becomes available.
UPDATE: At a press conference, an Air India official confirmed that there were six crew members and 160 passengers on board Air India Express flight IX812. He confirmed that eight survivors had been rescued.
UPDATE May 22, 2010: An Air India official, quoted in several press reports, said that all passengers on Air India Express Flight IX812 were Indian nationals.
Also today: The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced it is sending a team to assist India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with its investigation of this accident. The NTSB team will include a flight operations specialist, an aircraft systems specialist, and technical advisors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing.
