Mangalore crash: Pilot’s body to be flown to Frankfurt: Air India

Mumbai/Mangalore, May 24 (ANI): Air India spokesperson Harpreet Singh De on Monday said the body of 53-year-old pilot, Zlatko Glusica, who was killed in Saturday’s Air India Express crash in Mangalore, will be flown to Frankfurt for last rites.

Zlatko Glusica was a British national of Serbian origin, who had been employed with Air India for over two years.

De said Glusica’s body would first be flown to New Delhi, where embassy formalities would be completed before his body is cleared for proceeding to Frankfurt.

“From New Delhi, the body will be sent to Frankfurt, which again will be received by Air India staff. We have made arrangements for the family members of the captain to come to Frankfurt because he is actually based in Belgrade,” said De.

“From Frankfurt, the body will move to Belgrade, with his family, his son and his brother, who will be coming there to Frankfurt and Air India officials who will accompany them to Belgrade,” she added.

She stated that the DNA testing for the remaining 22 unidentified bodies have begun, and around 80 samples have been collected and sent to Hyderabad for tests.

When questioned about the pilot’s experience, De maintained that no rules were violated and all the pilots onboard had considerable experience.

De added that the US-based disaster management company, Kenyon International Emergency Services, has arrived to survey the crash site.

“They (Kenyon International Emergency Services) have arrived with lots of kits and they are doing their assessment at this point while I am talking. They are already at the site and a lot of assessment work has commenced,” said De.

About 158 people were killed in the crash on Saturday morning. There were only eight survivors.

The plane burst into flames after it overshot the tabletop runway and plunged into the forest below.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel has announced a compensation of Rs 75 lakh to each family of a dead victim. (ANI)