Report blames pilot error for Mangalore air crash

New Delhi: The final report on the crash of the Air India Express plane at Mangalore airport, in which 158 people were killed, has been submitted to the Civil Aviation Ministry. Civil aviation sources have told CNN-IBN that the crash was caused by pilot error.

Sources say the report claims pilot Captain Zlatko Glusica slept for over 90 minutes during the flight. The Air India Express IC 812 Boeing 737-800 carrying 166 people, including the crew, from Dubai crashed while negotiating the tricky landing at Mangalore city's "table-top" airport overlooking a ravine.

The American National Transportation Safety Board says it is the first instance of snoring recorded on a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).

The sources also say that the pilot realised too late that the plane was at a higher altitude than the flight path.

In the CVR co-pilot Captain HS Ahluwalia is heard telling Captain Zlatko Glusica thrice to go around as the plane can't land. The sources also say the pilot tried to pull up but it was too late.

The report says the last recorded voice from the cockpit is of the pilot saying "oh my god".

Not only that, the Captain, a British national of Serbian origin, also delayed in taking corrective measures despite being requested by his co-pilot for "a go-around".

So it is clear that it was pilot error combined with communication breakdown between the pilot and co-pilot that caused the crash. The report will now tabled in Parliament.