The catastrophic and heartrending crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, will go down as one of the worst aviation nightmares in recent times.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London Gatwick, crashed into the premises of B. J. Medical College after seemingly losing power during take-off, struggling to gain altitude, and claiming the lives of 241 passengers on board and at least five on the ground.

The fact that the tail of the ill-fated plane was found hanging atop the college hostel illustrates how precariously close human habitations were located alongside the runway.

Inevitably, the catastrophe revived memories of the Air India Express Flight 812 crash in 2010, which occurred during landing at Mangalore airport. This was a scheduled international flight from Dubai International Airport to Mangalore International Airport. On May 22, 2010, the Boeing 737 passenger jet operating the flight crashed on landing at Mangalore. The aircraft overshot the runway, falling down a hillside and bursting into flames. Of the 166 passengers and crew on board, 158 were killed (all six crew members and........

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