Last month, an Indian plane crash in Mangalore has made international news. The last time a plane crashed in India was in 2000. There were eight survivors and the stories they told of their experiences were harrowing. One man recalled a loud noise followed by flames. He survived by breaking a window and jumping out of the plane. Those who did not survive were honored by world leaders like Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.

No one really knows why the Air India Express Boeing 737 crashed, but there are some speculations that the plane overshot the landing. The crash has caused Air India’s flight records to be scrutinized. The pilots have complained of being overworked and fatigued. Many airline staff have been told to keep quiet about the working conditions in the airline industry. In protest, airline workers have called a strike for two days. Air India responded by firing employees and union leaders.

After two days, workers returned to work, but about a hundred flights were immobilized because of the strike. There are currently a lot of unrest and complaints about the airline industry in India. Apparently, foreign pilots are also hired by the airline industry, but workers complain that these foreign pilots are subject to less rigorous standards. Interestingly, a Serbian national was a co-pilot in this Mangalore crash. However, he was said to be an experienced pilot.

The cockpit voice recorder was uncovered. Analyzing the recorder may help determine the reason for the crash. Curiously, there was no distress call from the pilot around the time of the crash, and visibility was fair. More importantly, Indian officials are concentrating on identifying the deceased members of the crash. DNA experts have been brought in to identify the bodies for the sake of the families of the deceased. If all these allegations of incompetency and insufficient staffing are true, it may take a tragedy to change the airline industry for the better.