British pilot commandeered the ill-fated flight

A British national of Serbian origin, who had 10,000 hours of flying experience and had been operating in India for the last two years, commandeered the Air India aircraft, which crashed at Mangalore airport on Saturday.

Z Glusica, 53, had his license endorsed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, making him "capable" of flying in India, Air India Director (Personnel) Anup Srivastava told reporters in Mumbai.

Suggesting that Glusica was a competent pilot, Srivastava said he had 10,000 hours of flying experience. He also sought to dispel impression that Glusica was not aware of the Indian conditions as he said that the pilot had been flying in India for last two years.

Glusica, along with co-pilot H S Ahluwalia, last flew into Mangalore on May 17, Srivastava said. Ahluwalia, who hailed from Karnataka, was relatively new as he had begun flying here in April last year and had 3,750 hours of flying experience, he said.

The plane was two-and-a-half-year old and was air worthy, the Air India official said.