Indian Airlines Flight 440

Indian Airlines Flight 440 was a flight on 31 May 1973 that crashed while on approach to Palam Airport killing 48 of the 65 passengers and crew on board.

The crash

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 minima. 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]

The survivors included three Americans and two Japanese. The dead included four Americans, three people from the United Kingdom, and one woman from Yemen.^[3]

Among the dead was Indian Minister of Iron and Steel Mines, Mohan Kumaramangalam. Kumaramangalam was a confidant of Indira Gandhi, who was India's Prime Minister at the time. According to Mehtab-Ud-Din, a Punjabi journalist, Bhan Singh Bhaura was also on the flight, but survived. Mr. Singh Bhaura was then an MP from Bathinda (Punjab) for 5th Lok Sabha (1971–1977).

Cause

Investigators determined the cause of Indian Airlines Flight 440 crashing to be crew error in letting the aircraft descend below glidepath.^[4]

See also

• Japan Airlines Flight 471, another aviation disaster that took place at Palam International Airport less than a year prior to Indian Airlines Flight 440.

References

External links

• Indian Airlines Flight 440 at Planecrashinfo.com