Last minutes of the ill-fated AI flight

MANGALORE - From landing to plunging down a cliff - the last minutes of the Air India Express flight that crashed here Saturday morning killing 159 people:

- The Boeing 737 lands around 6.05 a.m., visibility is clear.

- Does not stop.

- Crosses the runway spillover area of 90 metres.

- Ploughs through a wall of sandbags.

- Veers off.

- One of the wings, probably the right wing, crashes into a concrete structure, technically called a localizer, that functions as landing aid.

- Wing falls off at crash point.

- Plunges 200/300 metres down a cliff.

- Catches fire after some time, leaving charred bodies, some found with seat belts on, according to rescue workers.

- Some time during the last minutes, a big crack appears in the plane’s body through which seven passengers escape. One of them a woman.

- A four-year-old girl rescued alive from the wreckage. She dies on way to a nearby hospital.

The last minutes of the Dubai to Mangalore flight were detailed by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel at a press conference.