On a flight from Dubai to Mangalore (not Bangalore) yesterday disaster struck as the plane tried to make a tricky landing at what is called a "tabletop" runway. i.e. one which is proceeded with a valley or a drop that makes overshooting the runway a scary adventure.
Sadly 158 out of the 160 passengers perished. Even more sadly, the flight departed from Dubai and included a Gulf News member of staff who perished as well. Incidentally, it was Gulf News that rocked my morning by reporting this sad piece of news.
http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/air-india-plane-crashes-in-southern-india-1.630447
Before people get too excited, the pilot was British with more than 10,000 flying hours and 26 landings at Mangalore. The co-pilot was Indian, and although he had less flying time than his Captain, but, he had more landings under his belt on this dangerous strip.
May they rest in peace.
