Summary
Indian Airlines Flight 440 was a flight on 31 May 1973 that crashed while on approach to Palam Airport (now Indira Gandhi International Airport) killing 48 of the 65 passengers and crew on board.
 An Indian Airlines Boeing 737-200, similar to the one involved in the crash | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 31 May 1973 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | New Delhi, India |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-2A8 |
| Aircraft name | Saranga |
| Operator | Indian Airlines |
| Registration | VT-EAM |
| Flight origin | Madras Airport, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Destination | Palam International Airport, New Delhi, India |
| Passengers | 58 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 48 |
| Survivors | 17 |
Accident edit
Flight 440 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu to New Delhi. A Boeing 737 named Saranga was used for the flight. As Flight 440 approached Palam International Airport in driving dust and a rainstorm, the aircraft struck high tension wires during a NDB approach with visibility below minimal. The aircraft crashed and caught fire.[1] 48 of the 65 passengers and crew on board Flight 440 perished in the accident.[2] Rescue officials said the survivors were in the front of the aircraft,[3] although one survivor reported sitting in the back row.[4]
The survivors included three Americans and two Japanese. The dead included four Americans, three Britons, and one woman from Yemen.[3] Among the dead was Indian Minister of Iron and Steel Mines, Mohan Kumaramangalam, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Communist Party of India politician K. Baladhandayutham and former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and Indian National Congress politician Devaki Gopidas and Indian businessman Raghunatha Reddy Kakani. A major survivors were Bhan Singh Bhaura Member Parliament and V. K. Madhavan Kutty, an eminent journalist and writer.
Cause edit
Investigators determined the Indian Airlines Flight 440 crash was caused by the crew descending below the minimum decision height.[5]
See also edit
- Japan Air Lines Flight 471, another aviation disaster that took place at Palam International Airport less than a year prior to Indian Airlines Flight 440.
References edit
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-2A8 VT-EAM Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL )". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ^ "Airline crash in New Delhi". Lodi News-Sentinel. United Press International. 1 June 1973. p. 8. Retrieved 28 October 2014 – via Google News.
- ^ a b "Indian crash site probed by crews". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. 1 June 1973. p. 11. Retrieved 28 November 2014 – via Google News.
- ^ Gorvett, Zaria (12 July 2017). "What not to do in a disaster". BBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ "AirDisaster.Com Accident Database". www.airdisaster.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
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External links edit
- Indian Airlines Flight 440 at Planecrashinfo.com