Indian Airlines Flight 440
| Indian Airlines Flight 440 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) An identical Boeing 737-200 from Indian Airlines |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Controlled flight into terrain |
| place |
New Delhi , India
|
| date | May 31, 1973 |
| Fatalities | 48 |
| Survivors | 17th |
| Injured | 17th |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
 Boeing 737-2A8
|
| operator |
Indian Airlines
|
| Mark |
VT-EAM
|
| Surname | Saranga |
| Departure airport |
Madras Airport , India
|
| Destination airport |
Palam Airport , Delhi , India
|
| Passengers | 58 |
| crew | 7th |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
The Indian Airlines Flight 440 (flight number IC440 ) was a domestic flight of the airline Indian Airlines from the airport Madras to airport Palam . On May 31, 1973 a Boeing 737-2A8 of the airline Indian Airlines with the registration number VT-EAM was flown against high-voltage lines in poor visibility during landing and fell to the ground. In the accident, 48 people were killed, 17 survived.
Airplane and occupants
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-2A8, which was 2 years and 2 months old at the time of the accident. The machine was assembled at the Boeing plant in Renton (Washington) and made its maiden flight on March 26, 1971, before being delivered to Indian Airlines in April of the same year. The aircraft had the factory number 20486, it was the 279th Boeing 737 from ongoing production. The machine was approved with the aircraft registration VT-EAM and was given the name Saranga . The twin- engined narrow -body aircraft was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A engines.
There were 58 passengers and 17 crew members on board.
the accident
The flight from Madras Airport was initially without any special incidents. During the NDB approach to Palam Airport, dust was raised and it was raining. The visibility was below the required minimum. The pilots extended the spoilers for landing. Shortly afterwards, the crew flew the machine against high-voltage lines. The plane fell on the ground and caught fire.
Victim
48 of the 65 people on board died in the accident. The rescue teams announced that the survivors were in the front part of the machine. One survivor said he was sitting in the back of the machine.
Among the survivors were three Americans and two Japanese. The dead included four Americans, three from the United Kingdom and one woman from Yemen . One of the dead was Mohan Kumaramangalam, the Indian Minister of Iron and Steel Mining.
root cause
The investigators determined that the cause of the accident was flying below the minimum flight altitude.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Accident Report B-737-200 VT-EAM , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on April 2, 2019.
- ↑ a b " Indian crash site probed by crews ." Associated Press (AP), Spokane Daily Chronicle . June 1, 1973. p. 11.
- ^ What not to do in a disaster. In: BBC. July 12, 2017, accessed April 2, 2019 .
Coordinates: 24 ° 49 ′ 12 ″ N , 93 ° 57 ′ 0 ″ E