At about 6:30am (local time) an Air India 737-400 crashed, over-shooting the runway at Mangalore in south India!!

Woke to this heart breaking news this morning!

As many of you know by now I have a special love for India and have visited this awesome country about 12 times now...but this horrible news this morning reminded me of the nerve racking landing at Kerela airport just south of Mangalore. As travel expert Simon Calder put it "This was a table top airport" meaning the runway has steep drops either side. In my opinion these runways are simply too short!!! While coming into land at Kerela we began an unusually steep decent and we were flying aboard the same type of aircraft Boeing 737-400. This steep drop was horrible and felt like we were just "falling" out of the sky, rather than the gentle "step" drop you normally get. Both Derek and I had looked at each other nervously and then around the cabin at our fellow passengers (mostly Indian) who appeared to be calm and relaxed...watching local reaction when your traveling is a good indication as to "whats normal"...such as on a mad Indoniesian bus ride. If the locals are relaxed, then this ride is normal!!! In the cabin all was normal, so we supposed this steep drop was normal to, but it was making me feel sick!! To this date I have only ever had air-sickness once, and I have forgotten how many times I have actually flew!! So my sickly feeling was unusual to me! When we landed the force of full reverse thrust slammed us in our seats and just a few seconds later we were at a standstill on the runway!!! Hence it is in my opinion that these runways are simply too short!!! However flying in India is excellently safe, more so than most asian countries!!
Here is an oddity though!
I have never felt safe on either a 737 or an Airbus!!!....and I have no idea why! The only thing I can think of is the amount of really bad clear air turbulence I have felt aboard these jets. One classic example was flying home from Goa...as we bounced about on board the seat belt sign "bonged" as Vicky, here was tucking into a rather gorgeous bottle of coconut liquor, getting rather tiddled in the process. Anyway I didn't need to put my seat belt on as I was already wearing it, as I do on all flights!! Pilots MUST keep their seat belts on at all times so my principle is "if its good enough for the pilots, is good enough for me" ...now, mildly drunk I, inevitably needed the toilet so I un-clipped my seat belt and made my way wobbly up the aisle while clinging on for dear life!!!
"Make it stop!!! Make it stop!!!" a terrified screach came from my right and a woman I had been chatting to while we were in the que for boarding, suddely grabbed my trousers and very nearly tripped me over!! She was in a state of compleat hysterics!!! Crying and squeeling and I was indeed surprized that a flight attendent hadent come over to calm her. Anyway, busting for a wee I took her hand and said gently...
"Its just nasty air. Its called clear air turbulance, so there are air pockets we bounce about on" I smiled at her!!
"Whats clear air turbulance?" she cried "Why is this happening to us??" She was still holding my hand in a death grip!
"Just let me go to the toilet and I will come back very soon!" I told her...she carried on crying and gripping my hand which I gently let go of. Like Arni in Terminator, I told her "I'll be back"
I got to the aircraft loo and wee'd for Britain!!
When I got back she was still crying and mumbling but on seeing me she smiled and reached out for me. I took her hand and knelt down in the aisle next to her seat and calmly explained what this turbulence was. She seemed to calm a little and then she said "Why are you so calm?" I told her I was a bit tiddled, and offered her some of my coconut liquor which she accepted gladly...I half expected a flight attendant to come over and get me back to the safety of my seat, but this never happened. Also I realised I was risking my life being in the cabin with no seat belt on in severe turbulence. People have been killed by clear air turbulence by not wearing their seat belts, as if the aircraft drops suddenly you can smash your head on the roof of the cabin. I was not really thinking about this though. I simply wanted to calm and reassure this poor woman. After about half an hour the turbulence leveled off and the seat belt sign bonged off with sighs of relife around the cabin. By now I was quite angry that a flight attendant had not come over to calm this panicing passenger, and indeed get me back to my seat!! No they were all safely buckled in with their belts!! They must have realised I was doing a good job and did not need to interfere! But its not my job to calm fellow passengers! Cabin crew are trained for it!!!
Anyway this is why I am non too keen to fly on the 737!!
My favorite aircraft is the classic 747-400, where I have always felt very "at home" simply because this jet can climb above most bad turbulence, giving the passengers a very smooth ride!

This crash needs to be investigated VERY carefully!! and evaluations need to be done on the length of this ultra short runways in south India!! 737's are big jets and it appears to me that the captain of this aircraft sadly just ran out of runway...I await the investigations!

My heart goes out to the friends and family's of the poor souls that perished, today. May God rest them all! x