Mangalore Air India crash vitims to get Rs.75 lakhs each

The families of the victims of the Air India Express crash in Mangalore last year are entitled to a compensation of Rs.75 lakhs each, the Kerala High Court so held on Wednesday. Justice PR Ramachandran Menon passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Abdul Salam and Ramla, parents of 24 year-old B Mohammed Rafi who was killed in the crash. In the air crash which happened last year, 158 passengers lost their lives when the plane caught fire after one of its wings hit a hillock before landing at Kenjar in Mangalore. The deceased's siblings are also party to the petition. Union Government and National Aviation Company are respondent to the case. There were in total 166 passengers 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 court held that the carrier was held liable to pay no fault liabilty of one lakh SDR (Special Drawing Rights equal to Rs.75 lakh) to the petitioner. The SDR is a special currency issued by IMF. This is apart from all other compensations they are entitled to. The petitioners prayed for a direction to settle the entire statutory claims made under the provision of the Air Act 1972 from the respondents on the death of Rafi. They had sought Rs.1.5 crore as compensation. The court said that the intention of the lawmakers was to bring about a parity in the matter of payment of compensation to the passengers, irrespective of class of travel, while providing for a 'two-tier system' of compensation as adopted in Montreal convention. Reported by      AR