Flying to Mangalore is frightening, says traveller

DUBAI - Landing in Mangalore is always a “fearful experience”, a Gulf News journalist who travels frequently to the Indian city said after an air crash there Saturday killed 158 people.

“Each and every time I have taken a flight to Mangalore, it has always been a fearful experience when the aircraft approached the runway and eventually when landing,” Senior Reporter M. Satya Narayan wrote in the daily’s website.

“The Bajpe Airport is like a table-top on the hills and one can feel the aircraft straining to ensure it does not overrun the short runway and fall into the adjoining ravines as the airport is situated in a hilly part.”

The reporter said that every time he landed at Mangalore, “thoughts of the pilot over-running the runway have always crossed my mind.

“The turning used to be always at the edge of the runway and one could always see the deep ravines just a few metres away.”

An Air India Express from Dubai crashed in Mangalore while landing, killing 158 people. Only eight people survived.