HC rules that captain’s family is entitled to compensation in Air India Express crash | Mumbai News

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday ruled that the family of the Serbian captain of the Air India Express flight that crashed after landing at Mangalore airport in May 2010, killing 152 passengers and all six crew members, will receive justice was entitled to compensation of approx ₹4.11 million.

A single judge, Sharmila Deshmukh, passed the order on an appeal filed by Air India Charters Ltd challenging the labor commissioner’s October 2013 order awarding compensation to the family of the captain, Zlatko Glusica, who was also killed at the crash.

The Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai to Mangalore crashed on landing at Mangalore on May 22, 2010. Captain Glusica reportedly continued his unstabilized approach despite three calls from the first officer to initiate a go-around, resulting in the planes overran the runway and fell off a hill, killing 152 of the 160 passengers on board and all six crew.

More than two years after the incident, the plane deposited an amount of ₹3.32 crore, as per the Employees Compensation Act, 1923, with the Labor Commissioner. The latter confirmed the claim of Glusica’s relatives that compensation should be calculated based on the captain’s salary of USD 11,000 per month, together with a 50% fine for failure to deposit the compensation amount within one month of the incident, and 12% statutory interest on the damage. amount awarded as compensation.

Air India Express disputed the claim, arguing that the captain was employed by the aircraft through Sigmar Aviation and that the airline paid $11,000 per month as salary to the labor supplier, but his actual salary was $9,170 per month.

In addition, the airline also objected to the imposition of a maximum penalty of 50%, provided for in the law, on the employer for depositing the compensation after the stipulated period of one month after the incident. The crash occurred in May 2010, but the airline did not deposit the amount with the labor commissioner until September 2012.

Justice Deshmukh also accepted the airline’s contention that the two-year delay had been properly explained as the airline was not aware of the actual salary received by the captain from Sigmar Aviation or even the interim compensation of ₹10 lakh each, paid to other victims of the crash, could not be paid to the captain’s family as the airline was not aware of the whereabouts of the deceased captain’s relatives.

The family would now make ends meet ₹4.11 crore – calculated at a salary of USD 9,170 per month – plus interest at the rate of 12% from the date of the incident to the date of deposit of compensation by the airline with the Labor Commissioner.