Air India Express has confirmed that the pilots of a plane that crashed in the south Indian city of Mangalore on Saturday were Serbian and Indian nationals.
Initial reports said one of the pilots was a Russian national.
The Air India Express representative did not name the pilots, but NDTV earlier identified them as "Z Glucia, a Serbian national" and "first officer Capt S S Ahluwalia."
Air India Express earlier said there were 166 people on board the Boeing 737 plane from Dubai that crashed at around 6:30 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT) at Mangalore airport. The plane reportedly overshot the runway while landing amid poor visibility and was engulfed in flames.
The airline said eight people survived the crash
National media reports said, citing a regional official, that pilot error may have been the cause of the disaster.
An unnamed representative of the state of Karnataka, of which Mangalore is the chief port city, said that the plane first landed before flying off the runway at "a high speed."
NEW DELHI, May 22 (RIA Novosti)
