Trivandrum - Madurai

On December 9, 1971 at 12:25 PM, Trivandrum - Madurai experienced a crash involving Hindustan Aeronautics HAL-748, operated by Indian Airlines, with the event recorded near Cumbum Tamil Nadu.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

31 people were known to be on board, 21 fatalities were recorded, 10 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 67.7%.

Crew on board: 4, crew fatalities: 4, passengers on board: 27, passenger fatalities: 17, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. While cruising in marginal weather conditions from Trivandrum to Madurai at an altitude of 5,200 feet, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located in the Megamalai Mountain Range, some 90 km southwest of Madurai Airport. The wreckage was found southeast of Cumbum. All four crew members and 17 passengers were killed while 10 others were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Aircraft reference details include registration VT-DXG, MSN 512, year of manufacture 1968.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 9.7394°, 77.2853°.