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Capt Zlatko Glusica’s son is not deterred by the death of his father in the Mangalore crash of May 2010. But he remains bitter about the Court of Inquiry pinning the blame on Glusica

Although Capt Zlatko Glusica, a Serbian, lost his life on May 22, 2010 when the Air India Express flight he was commanding crashed in Mangalore airport, his son is keen to fly in India.

Alexander Glusica, 27, is a qualified airline transport pilot (ATP). “My father was happy when I expressed a desire to become a pilot. However, it has been almost a year after I graduated but am yet to find a job. I wish to fly in India. According to my father, it is a beautiful country... a lovely nation,” he told Bangalore Mirror while speaking on the phone from Belgrade. However, the family is unable to cope with the ‘sleepy pilot theory’, which blames Capt Glusica for the crash that claimed the lives of 158 passengers and crew. Alexander has been demanding reopening of the investigation.
 
His father often mentioned that he was exhausted by his duties in India. “At times, his work day would stretch for 12 hours and most of the flights were during the night when the body is used to rest, not to be fully alert,” he says.
 
“We kept in contact every day. Whenever he had leave, he would spend time with us, at home and in our family company. He was always bringing gifts for my sister’s children, Petar and Marko. The last time we spoke was on May 20, 2010 after he had landed in India after a vacation. I noticed a bit of sadness in his voice.

When I asked if something was wrong, he replied that he was just tired and needed rest,” says Alexander. “Many things changed after our father’s death. My father had remarried after divorcing my mother. He was the connection that kept the two families together. Although he had a new life with his second wife and another child, his words to my sister and me were: ‘I will always be there for you, not ahead of you so you will trip on me, but behind you, to support you if you were to fall down’.”
 
Referring to the Court of Inquiry report, Alexander says, “Its only aim was to blame my father. The cause of the fire and the decomposition of the aircraft, which took away many lives, was the impact of the aircraft with the instrument landing system (ILS) structure, which was illegally situated at the end of the runway. The investigators failed to mention this as it was far more cost effective to blame a foreign pilot who cannot defend himself. Not one sentence was written to improve safety or prevent another catastrophe. It was their moral obligation towards all the families who lost their loved ones to present the actual causes of the accident. I mentioned my objections and demanded reopening of the investigation.”
 
After the crash, the family spoke to a number of Capt Glusica’s colleagues.
 
“Having known my father for more than three decades, they were certain that the fault cannot be put on him, as he did not have even a single adverse remark in his flying career. No compensation was paid to our family,” he said.
 
“At first, the media in Serbia spoke well about my father. This changed after the Indian media floated the ‘sleepy pilot theory’. It was, and is still very hard for our family to deal with this,” he said. “Someday, I wish to visit the accident site and place a memorial stone on the final resting place of my father.”