Little Viola, a four year old girl was waiting to greet her parents with rose petals, not knowing that they had perished along with the aircraft in Mangalore. Is it possible for anyone to console her with the inherent glitches in the operating systems, pilot error or language barriers? Advances in aircraft technology should minimize the risk of crashes, so from where does the problem arises? Let’s have a look at the statistics about these mishaps.
22 May, 2010: Air India crash from Dubai to Manglore;158 died
Date: 22nd May 2010
Flight: Air India 737-800 from Dubai to Mangalore
Number of people killed: 158
This ill fated aircraft, overshot the runway and crashed into the valley below. The tabletop runway in Mangalore cannot be navigated by any but the best pilots and Z.Glucia, the pilot of this aircraft was no novice. No technical snag was reported and the slight drizzle, was not a bad condition for landing. There is no conclusive verdict so far. This is the 3rd worst disaster in these 48 years of the Indian Aviation Industry.
1 Jan, 1978: Air India flight crash into Arabian Sea; 213 died
Date: 1st January 1978
Flight: Boeing 747-237B, Air India flight from Mumbai to Dubai
Number of people killed: 213 including 23 of the crew
1978 started with an air disaster and the 11th worst one till date. ‘Emperor Ashoka’ was cleared for take off. The aircraft climbed steadily, took a slight right turn into the Arabian Sea and a minute later, plunged into the sea. Investigations revealed that the ADI (altittude director indicator) of both the pilots was faulty, causing the pilots to roll to the left when the plane was actually level.
12 Nov, 1996: Airplace collide in Mid air Charki Dadri, Haryana; 349 died
Date: 12th November 1996
Flight: Saudi Arabian Airlines flight Boeing 747-168B from Delhi to Dharhan and Kazhakasthan Airlines IIyushin-76 from Kazhakasthan to Delhi collided in Charki Dadri in Haryana
Number of people killed: 349
The accident summary indicates pilot error of the Kazakhstan Airlines airplane, who had not descended to the correct height of 15000 feet but was actually at 14500 feet and continuing to descend. The Boeing 747 leaving Delhi had been instructed to reach 14000 feet which it did. But may be because of the language and communication problem or cloud turbulence, the Kazakhstan Airlines pilot did not notice the error in the altitude inspite of a warning about traffic in his airway by approach controller V.K.Dutta. The two planes ripped each other apart and fell in a small town in Haryana, with all the passengers in both planes being dead. 4 passengers from the Kazakhstan Airlines survived but succumbed to the injuries later. This was the worst tragedy in the history of aviation to date.
7 July, 1962: Air flight from Sydney crashed into hill near Mumbai; 94 died
Date: 7th July 1962
Flight: Alitalia DC-8 from Sydney to Rome via Darwin, Singapore, Bangkok, Mumbai, Karachi and Teheran
Number of people killed: 94
On approaching Mumbai, the crew got instructions for descending upto 4000 ft. But the pilot made a premature descent, far below the safety level and crashed head on into the Davandyachi hill near Mumbai, killing 94 people. The ASN has put down the probable cause as navigation error by the pilot, flying at night in an unfamiliar route and his failure to make use of the navigational facilities.
1 jan,1978: Air India flight for Dubai crashed near north-east Mumbai; 213 died
Date: 1st January 1978
Flight: Boeing 747-237B, Air India flight from Mumbai to Dubai
Number of people killed: 213 including 23 of the crew
1978 started with an air disaster and the 11th worst one till date. ‘Emperor Ashoka’ was cleared for take off. The aircraft climbed steadily, took a slight right turn into the Arabian Sea and a minute later, plunged into the sea. Investigations revealed that the ADI(altittude director indicator) of both the pilots was faulty causing the pilots to roll to the left, when the plane was actually level.
21 June, 1982: Air India flight from Kuala Lumpur crashed at Mumbai;17 died
Date: 21st June 1982
Flight: Air India Boeing 707-420 flying from Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai via Chennai
Number of people killed: 17
ASN described the accident as the pilot’s failure to be aware of the altitude and reducing power in the engines. This made the aircraft land with an impact and later maybe an attempt to try a go-around for a better approach, resulted in the plane overshooting the runway by nearly 1300 ft and breaking apart on the hard ground. Imagine a huge plane being bounced like a ball on the tarmac. That probably is the best description for what happened.
23 June, 1985: Air flight from Monetreal to Mumbai crashed over Irish air space; 329 died
Date: 23rd June 1985
Flight: Air India Boeing 747 Kanishka from Vancouver to New Delhi
Number of people killed: 329
Probably, the worst act of terrorism in Aviation history was the bomb planted by some militant group. The aircraft ‘Kanishka’ which was a Boeing 747 on its scheduled flight from Montreal to Mumbai, just vanished from the screen while in the Ireland airspace. This happened right under the nose of the flight guiding crew.The plane was blown up at a height of 31000 feet, killing nearly 280 Canadians, 27 Britishers and 12 Indians. This mass murder was engineered by a Sikh militant group and only one person, Inder Singh Reyat was rounded up after 20 years of investigation.
19 Oct,1988: Indian airlines flight crashed to Ahmadabad airport; 124 died
Date: 19th October 1988
Flight: Indian Airlines flight 113 from Mumbai to Ahmedabad
Number of people killed: 130
The Boeing 737 was cleared for landing at Ahmedabad airport when the plane just crashed into the trees and a hi-tension pylon before landing in the fields and then bursting into flames. All the 6 crew members and 130 passengers were killed. Though the initial reports indicated pilot error, investigations found faulty navigation instruments and bad weather as the probable cause.
14 Feb,1990: Indian airlines flight from Mumbai crashed at Bangalore airport; 92 died
Date: 14th February 1990
Flight: Indian Airlines Airbus A320-231 from Mumbai to Bengaluru
Number of people killed: 92
The plane was cleared for landing at 12:44 by the approach crew who directed the plane to runway 09. What happened next was unbelievable. The plane kept descending even below the landing height and touched the boundaries of the golf club, lifted off to about 230 ft and again came down hard with the landing gear ploughing into the ground, making the engines and gears to tear off and moving over the embankment before coming to a standstill. By this time 92 people inside the aircraft were dead. Amazingly, there were 54 survivors.
17 July,2000: Alliance air flight crashed at Patna airport; 60 died
Date: 17th July 2000
Flight: Alliance Air flight from Kolkata to Delhi via Patna
Number of people killed: 58
58 people travelling from Kolkata to Delhi via Patna were killed when the plane carrying them landed incorrectly. The runway was too small for large airplanes like Airbus or A320. After investigation, it was found that the pilots had made an error in taking a 360 degree turn before directing the plane on the runway. The plane plummeted into the neighbouring residential quarters, spewing debris and bodies in a horrific way.
