Air India

Airbus A320

On 05.01.2014, Air India Ltd. Airbus A-320-231 aircraft was scheduled to operate flight AI-889 (Delhi – Guwahati – Imphal) and return flight, AI-890 (Imphal – Guwahati – Delhi). Air India dispatch section at Delhi, which has received the roster of flight crew for the flights, had prepared the operational and ATC flight plans by using FWz flight planning software and taking into account the weight & weather (forecast winds). Same set of flight crew and cabin crew was rostered to operate the four sectors mentioned above. The flight was under Command of an ATPL holder with another ATPL holder as First Officer (FO) and 04 Cabin Crew members. The Commander was CAT III qualified and the FO was CAT I qualified. The FWz plan was prepared for VT-ESL, but later on the aircraft was changed to VT-ESH. As per the pilot in command as both the aircraft have bogie gear type of landing gear and the performance factor is also same for these aircraft, he had accepted the FWz plan of VT-ESL. As per the manager flight dispatch on duty, only first leg i.e. Delhi Guwahati was dispatched. Required fuel figures were informed to the engineering & commercial departments. Pilots were briefed with folders which in addition to flight plans contained current NOTAMs and meteorological information. The relevant information in these documents was highlighted for briefing to the flight crew. For the remaining sectors which were self briefing sectors flight plan and NOTAMs were given to the flight crew. As per the pre flight briefing register, both the crew members have visited the flight dispatch section for briefing and at around 10:40 hrs. IST have signed the dispatch register. The sectors Delhi – Guwahati – Imphal – Guwahati were as per schedule and were uneventful. As per the flight sector report, the transit time at Guwahati prior to Guwahati-Delhi sector was 50 minutes. The aircraft landed at Guwahati from Imphal at 11:15 hrs. UTC and 12.7 tons of fuel was uplifted. The filed alternates for the sector were Lucknow and Jaipur in that order. METARs of Delhi, Lucknow and Jaipur were provided at Guwahati. There was no specific briefing. Flight crew has taken the weather updates of destination and alternates before departure from Guwahati. Lucknow visibility at that time was 2000 meters with temperature and dew point of 18°C & 13°C respectively. The weather at Delhi (11:05 UTC) was RVR as 500 meters for runway 29, general visibility of 150 meters, with both temperature and dew point of 12°C. A speci was issued at 1130 UTC for Jaipur with winds 04 kts. visibility 3000m and haze. There was no significant clouding (NSC), temperature (T) 18°C & dew point (Dp) 13°C, QNH 1013. Pre flight walk around inspection was carried out by the crew at Guwahati and the aircraft was released by an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer which was accepted by the Pilot-in-command. There was no snag or technical problem with the aircraft. There was no component or system released under Minimum Equipment List (MEL). For its last leg, the aircraft departed Guwahati for Delhi at 1205 UTC with 173 passengers on board. The fuel requirement from Guwahati to Delhi with 179 persons on board was 12.2 tonnes. As per the commander of flight, additional 500 kgs of fuel was taken (total on board was 12.7 tonnes) considering the time of arrival in Delhi was that of traffic congestion and because of weather in Delhi. As per the Operational Flight Plan (OFP), there was 10 minutes of arrival delay at the destination. The aircraft was flown on managed speeds. Initially the flight was cleared by ATC for a lower level and was later on cleared to fly at cruising level of 340. The fuel was checked visually on the Flight Management System (FMS) and Fuel Page which was further cross checked with the OFP planned figures by the crew on way points but was not recorded on the Operational Flight Plan. As per the crew, the fuel consumed was marginally higher than planned. The time taken to reach the way points was also noted, which was almost the same as planned figures were. Enroute, there was no briefing about traffic congestion over Delhi by any of the ground stations of AAI. The crew, on reaching overhead Lucknow, has taken Lucknow weather and when the aircraft was in range of ATIS Delhi, Delhi ATIS weather was also copied. The aircraft was not equipped with Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) but was provided with HF/VHF system. As per the flight crew no flight following was provided either by flight dispatch or the IOCC of Air India. Weather updates were not seeked by the crew from the flight dispatch nor were any updates provided by Flight dispatch to the aircraft during the flight except when crew had asked Delhi dispatch about Jaipur visibility before finally making the decision to divert to Jaipur. Flight crew did not seek any update of Delhi or Jaipur weather till the time the aircraft came in contact with Delhi ATC. While in contact with Delhi ATC, the flight was advised to join hold as Delhi visibility Runway 28 RVR had dropped to the lower end of CAT I operations at this point runway 29 was below minima. AI 890 was number 12 in sequence and continued to remain in the holding pattern for the next 20-25 minutes. During this period there was no attempt on the part of flight crew to seek Lucknow weather. Air India Flight dispatch has also not given any advice to the flight about Jaipur or Lucknow weather. The weather (visibility / RVR) reported on Runway 29 was below CAT I conditions so runway was not available for this flight at that moment as the First Officer was only Cat I qualified. As per commander of the flight, they did 03 holds each of 1.5 minutes leg and flew headings 360° and 180° before intercepting the localizer Runway 28 at 35 miles. RVR runway 28 also dropped below Cat. I minimas, therefore the crew discontinued approach and climbed to 8000 feet on runway heading before going on heading 180. As per the Commander, though the 1st planned diversion alternate was Lucknow which had visibility of 2000 m i.e. above minima, but change of diversion to Jaipur was made as after missed approach they were closer to Jaipur and they had inquired about the visibility from Dispatch for Jaipur, which was provided as 2000 m. At this stage the crew did not check complete weather of Jaipur. Minimum diversion fuel to Jaipur was 2.9 tonnes as per FWz CFP. AI-890 commenced diversion to Jaipur with <U+2015>Fuel on Board<U+2016> of 3.1 tonnes. As per the Station Manager of Air India at Jaipur Airport, he received a call from their Executive Director, Northern Region at around 2040 hrs. IST on 05.01.2014 that due to Delhi weather, AI 890 had diverted to Jaipur. He then conveyed the same to the airport office and the concerned engineer. The aircraft came in contact with Jaipur for the first time when it was at 68 DME from Jaipur. At that time the crew came to know of the complete weather of Jaipur from ATIS as visibility of 900 m, Dew Point as 13°C, temperature as 13°C, and RVR of 1000m. At 60 miles and passing flight level 138, the crew intimated Jaipur that the aircraft is descending for flight level 100 as cleared by Delhi control, which was acknowledged by Jaipur ATC. The aircraft again informed Jaipur ATC its position at 55 miles, 50 miles and 42 miles from Jaipur which were also acknowledged by Jaipur ATC. During these contacts, weather of Jaipur was neither asked by the crew nor provided by the ATC. When the aircraft was at flight level 83, the crew asked ATC Jaipur to confirm that they can carry out ILS approach for runway 27 via 10 DME arc. While confirming the requested approach, Jaipur ATC has informed all the stations about the weather at that moment as visibility 400 m and RVR 1000 m. When the aircraft was at 30 miles from Jaipur, Jaipur ATC passed weather as visibility 400 m, RVR 1000 m and trend visibility becoming 350 m. The crew was asked to come overhead by Jaipur ATC. At 28 DME from Jaipur, the aircraft was maintaining 6000 feet and on request was cleared by Jaipur ATC to descend to 5000 feet. When the aircraft was at 25 DME, from Jaipur, ATC advised that the weather was deteriorating rapidly and visibility was 400 meters. The crew however intimated the ATC that they were committed to land at Jaipur due fuel. As per the crew the fuel on board at that point of time was 2.6 tonnes (approx.) and approach was commenced for Jaipur with a visibility of 500 m with trend reducing. The aircraft was no. 2 in approach at Jaipur and was cleared for VORDME arc ILS approach runway 27 at 25 nm. Crew had, as per them, checked Ahmedabad distance as 291 nm, with a fuel calculation of 2.7 tonnes and as sufficient fuel was not available for Ahmedabad so did not consider diverting to Ahmedabad at that moment. Crew has also stated that Udaipur watch hours were not available with them, Jodhpur is an Air Force field with restrictions and Delhi was packed so they continued approach to Jaipur knowing that visibility / RVR was rapidly deteriorating. Due to reducing visibility, Jaipur ATC asked all the aircraft inbound for Jaipur to come over head and join JJP hold. The crew of the subject flight asked for the weather which was provided as visibility 400 m & RVR 1000 m though RVR deteriorating to 550 m. The flight from the <U+2015>Arrival Route<U+2016> flew the VORDME arc for ILS runway 27. The ATC had transmitted the RVR as 200 m and visibility as 50 m with trend reducing. Another scheduled flight ahead of AI-890 carried out a missed approach and diverted to Ahmedabad. When the aircraft was above MDA (1480 feet AGL), ATC reported RVR 50 m and cleared the aircraft to land subject to minima. Both the flight crew maintained that they had seen the runway lights. ILS approach was performed with dual AP until 200ft RALT. After descending below MDA on auto pilot, the commander disconnected the auto pilot. Captain performed the final approach manually. The aircraft deviated to the left of the runway centre line and touched down on soft ground (in kutcha) on the LH side of the runway. During touchdown and landing roll, the visibility was zero and crew were unable to see any of the reference cues. The crew had heard rumbling sound during landing roll. As per the commander, he did the manual landing as he was not sure if he could do auto-land on a ground facility which is CAT I certified airfield in actual zero visibility. The aircraft continued to roll/ skid on the unpaved surface and during this period the left wing impacted trees causing damage to the left wing. Thereafter aircraft turned right and entered the runway finally coming to a halt on the LH side of runway. There was no fire. ATC Jaipur informed the Airport Manager of the Airline at Jaipur that their flight AI-890 had blocked the runway and also requested them to send equipments / manpower to attend the aircraft and get the aircraft removed. The Station AME of the airline alongwith the Asst Officer (Comm.), who was at the tarmac were instructed by the Station Manager to move to the aircraft. As per the AME, the visibility was almost nil and they could not move without the help of =Follow Me‘ Jeep. The ATC was informed to arrange the jeep to escort the personnel upto the aircraft. The AME after reaching the aircraft observed that the no. 1 main wheel of the aircraft had decapped/ damaged and the port side wing was damaged. The fuel remaining on board was 2400 kgs. The disembarkation of passengers was carried out on the runway itself and passengers were sent to the terminal building. Since the aircraft was not in a position to be either taxied or towed to the parking bay, the baggage of passengers was offloaded at the runway itself and sent to the terminal. One passenger suffered minor bruise on the knuckle of his right hand middle finger. He was attended to by the cabin crew in the aircraft and also by the doctor at the airport. Medical check-up of all the crew members including breathanalyser (BA) test was done by the medical officer, M.I. room Jaipur airport. The BA test was negative for all the crew members with a reading of 00.00. Since the aircraft was obstructing the runway, the airport was shut down for any further flight operations till the runway could be cleared. A NOTAM was issued to this effect. The aircraft was towed the next day to parking bay no.5 at terminal-1 by 1200 hrs and was later repositioned on a non-operational remote bay.

Boeing 747-200

After touchdown at New Delhi-Indira Gandhi Airport following an uneventful flight from London-Heathrow Airport, the crew started the braking procedure and activated the thrust reversers when the pylon of the engine n°1 failed. The engine partially detached, causing a fuel line to rupture and the fuel to ignite. The aircraft was stopped after a course of almost 3 km and all 215 occupants were evacuated safely. The fire was extinguished but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Boeing 747-200

On the morning of 23rd June, 1985 Air India's Boeing 747 aircraft VT-EFO (Kanishka) was on a scheduled passenger flight (AI182) from Montreal and was proceeding to London enroute to Delhi and Bombay. It was being monitored at Shannon on the radar scope. At about 0714 GMT it suddenly disappeared from the radar scope and the aircraft, which had been flying at an altitude of approximately 31,000 feet, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the southwest coast of Ireland at position latitude 51° 3.6' N and longitude 12° 49' W. This was one of the worst air disasters wherein all the 307 passengers plus 22 crew members perished. The fact that emergency had arisen was first by Shannon Upper Area Control (UAC) after the aircraft had disappeared from the radar scope. The control gave a number of calls to the aircraft but there was obviously no response. Thereafter various messages were transmitted and that is how the rest of the world came to know of the accident. Shannon Control at 0730 hours advised the Marine Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) about the situation which appeared to have arisen. MRCC, in turn, explained the situation to Valencia Coast Station and requested for a Pan Broadcast. Thereafter ships started converging on the scene of the accident and they commenced search and rescue operations.

Boeing 707

Following an uneventful flight from Singapore via Kuala Lumpur, the crew started the descent to Bombay-Santa Cruz Airport by night. The visibility was poor due to the combination of fog and night. On final, the captain reduced engine power at minimum, causing the aircraft to adopt an excessive rate of descent. Twelve seconds later, the aircraft landed hard on runway 27. Main wheel wells and tires were damaged upon impact and several alarms sounded in the cockpit. The captain increased engine power and decided to initiate a go-around. The airplane continued for few hundred meters but rolled on the right shoulder of the runway before takeoff. After liftoff, the stick shaker activated as the aircraft was in stall conditions. It lost height then crashed near the runway end, bursting into flames. Two crew members and 15 passengers were killed, 45 other occupants were injured and 49 others escaped uninjured.

Boeing 747-200

After takeoff from Bombay-Santa Cruz Airport runway 27, while climbing by night at an altitude of 2,400 feet, the captain contacted ATC and wished a Happy New Year. He was cleared to climb to 8,000 feet and initiated a turn to the right according to departure procedures. Once the turn was finished and the aircraft was leveling, the captain realized his Attitude Director Indicator (ADI) was still showing a right-bank indication. The copilot confirmed his ADI was correct and the flight engineer noticed the difference between the captain's ADI and the third ADI system. Despite these two confirmation, the captain started a turn to the left as he thought the aircraft was still in a right-bank attitude. The airplane entered a left turn to an angle of 40° then until an excessive angle of 108° when control was lost. From an altitude of 2,000 feet, the airplane entered a dive and crashed into the Arabian Sea. The airplane disintegrated on impact and all 213 occupants were killed. Most of the debris were found in shallow water about 3 km offshore. Control was lost as the pilot-in-command was flying over the sea by night without any visual references with the ground.

Boeing 707

The five crew members were engaged in a local training mission at Bombay-Santa Cruz Airport. During the takeoff roll on three engine, the pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane that deviated to the right and departed the asphalt. The right wing struck a mound of 9 feet high located 188 feet to the right of the runway, causing both right engines n°3 and 4 to be torn off. The aircraft caught fire and came to rest in flames. All five crew members were slightly injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Boeing 707

The aircraft christened 'Kanchenjunga' was on a flight from Bombay to New York with intermediate stops in New Delhi, Beirut, Geneva, Paris and London, carrying 106 passengers and 11 crew members. The airplane departed Beirut with one VOR inoperative and while approaching Geneva at an altitude of 15,000 feet, the crew contacted ATC and requested the permission to perform a 'VMC on top' descent, about 1,000 feet above the cloud layer. Twenty minutes before its ETA at Geneva-Cointrin Airport, the four engine aircraft struck the Mont Blanc at an altitude of 4,677 meters. The airplane disintegrated on impact and debris scattered in deep snow near the 'Rocher de la Tournette'. Among the victims were Giani Bertoli, Director of Air India for Europe and the Indian Atomist Homi Bhabba who was travelling to Geneva for a conference, accompanied with 20 monkeys. At the time of the accident, the airplane should be at an altitude of 17,500 feet but the crew failed to follow this procedure, probably following misunderstanding with ATC.

Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation

On approach to Bombay-Santa Cruz Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls. On short final, due to lack of visibility, the captain decided to make a go around. While trying to climb, the airplane stalled and crashed near the runway end. All 46 occupants were evacuated while the aircraft was destroyed. It is believed the climb speed was insufficient, causing the aircraft to stall and crash.

Lockheed L-749 Constellation

The aircraft took off from Hong Kong-Kai Tak Airport bound for Jakarta at 0425 hours Greenwich Mean Time carrying 8 crew members and 11 passengers. The flight was uneventful until approximately five hours after take-off when a muffled explosion was heard in the aircraft while cruising at an altitude of 18,000 feet over the sea. Smoke started entering the cabin through the cold air ducts almost immediately and a localized fire was detected soon after on the starboard wing behind the number three engine nacelle. A rapid descent was commenced for ditching the aircraft and distress signals broadcast. In spite of fire fighting action, during which No. 3 engine was feathered, the fire spread very rapidly and caused hydraulic failure followed by electrical failure. During the final stages of the descent, executed under extremely difficult circumstances, dense smoke entered the cockpit reducing the visibility to almost nil. The aircraft impacted the water with the starboard wing tip, and the nose submerged almost instantaneously. Only three crew members survived the accident. The aircraft was destroyed. All passengers were Chinese and European journalists flying to Jakarta to take part to the Asia-Afro Bandung Conference.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Shortly after takeoff from runway 09 at New Delhi-Palam Airport, while climbing to a height of about 500 feet, the copilot made a steep turn to the right when the airplane stalled and crashed in a huge explosion in a wasteland located about 2 km southeast of the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 18 occupants were killed.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Shortly after liftoff, the airplane went out of control and crashed. A crew member was killed while all other occupants were injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It appears that the loss of control occurred while the autopilot system was already engaged at takeoff.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

While cruising in low visibility, the aircraft hit the slope of mountain located near Katagaru, State of Karnataka. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and all 27 occupants were killed.

Lockheed L-749 Constellation

The four engine aircraft christened 'Malabar Princess' left Cairo-Almaza Airport at 0209LT on a direct flight to Geneva, completing an international service from Bombay to London, carrying 40 passengers and a crew of 8. All passengers were Indian and Pakistani marines who were joining their boat based in the harbor of Newcastle upon Tyne. About 20 minutes before its estimated time of arrival in Geneva-Cointrin Airport, while cruising at an altitude of 15,500 feet, the crew informed ATC that he was flying over Grenoble. The radio officer at Geneva Airport misbelieved this position and asked the crew to switch on 333 kHz for a direction finding check. The crew never contacted this frequency and the aircraft disappeared shortly later. As the airplane failed to arrive at Geneva Airport, SAR operations were conducted by the French, Swiss and Italian Authorities. The wreckage was found two days later, Sunday November 5, at an altitude of 4,671 meters, on the Rocher de la Tournette, about 300 meters from the Vallot Refuge. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 48 occupants were killed.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Crashed in unknown circumstances.

Vickers Viking

Shortly after takeoff from Bombay-Santa Cruz, the crew encountered technical problems and elected to return. As the situation deteriorated rapidly, the captain decided to attempt an emergency landing in Marve Beach, about 13 km northwest of Bombay Airport. The aircraft belly landed on a beach, slid for several yards and came to rest. While all 25 occupants escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Vickers Viking

On final approach, one of the engine failed. The aircraft stalled and crashed in a field short of the runway threshold. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and all 19 occupants were injured.

Douglas C-48 (DC-3)

Shortly after takeoff by night, while in initial climb, the aircraft banked right, stalled and crashed by a 30° nose down angle in Korangi Creek. All 23 occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, visibility was poor and weather conditions were considered as marginal.

Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (DC-3)

After landing at Jammu Airport, the aircraft failed to stop within the remaining distance. It overran and came to rest. There were no casualties while the aircraft was written off.