US experts' team to assist Indian officials in crash probe

Washington, May 23 (PTI) A team of top US transportation
experts along with officials from Boeing is set to join Indian
aviation authorities in probing the Air India Express flight
crash in Mangalore that killed 158 people.
The team, which will assist Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) in investigation into Saturday's plane crash,
is scheduled to reach Mangalore city in south India on Tuesday
morning, a US official said.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is
sending its investigators to India at the request of the
Indian government, an official statement said.
"NTSB Chairman, Deborah A P Hersman, has designated
Senior Air Safety Investigator Joe Sedor as the US Accredited
Representative," the NTSB statement said.
"The US team will also include an NTSB flight operations
specialist, an NTSB aircraft systems specialist and technical
advisers from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing,"
it said.
"The team is expected to arrive in Mangalore on Tuesday
morning (local time)," the NTSB said.
The investigation is being conducted by India's DGCA,
which will release all information on the progress of the
probe, it said.
An Air India Express flight, which originated from Dubai,
overshot the airport runway in Magalore and burst into
flames Saturday, killing 158 persons but eight others
survived. PTI LKJ
MRD