Deccan Airways Limited
| Founded | 1945 |
|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 1946 |
| Ceased operations | 1953 |
| Hubs | Begumpet Airport |
| Headquarters | Hyderabad |
Deccan Airways Limited was a commercial airline based in Hyderabad. Founded in 1945, it was one of the nine airlines existing in India during independence. The airline, a joint venture of Nizam Government of erstwhile Hyderabad State and Tata Airlines was launched with a fleet of three aircraft. By the time it was merged with Indian Airlines in 1953, it had a fleet of thirteen Douglas DC-3 'Dakota' aircraft. The airline operated on Madras-Hyderabad-Nagpur- Bhopal-Gwalior-Delhi, Hyderabad-Bombay and Hyderabad-Bangalore sectors.
71 per cent of Deccan Airways was owned by the Nizam's Government and the rest was owned by Tata Sons and others. Its first flight began in July 1946. The DC-3 aircraft were brought from US Air Force at a throw away price after they were left unused at Assam after World War 2. Hyderabad had five airfields with concrete runways in Aurangabad, Warangal, Bidar, Hakimpet and Begumpet. In 1952 Government of India held 78% of shares of Deccan Airways. The shares were acquired from the Hyderabad Government & Nizam State Railways. 13% of the shares was still held by Tatas & 9% by the general public[1]
In 1953 Deccan Airways Limited along with seven other airlines under the Air Corporations Act were merged to form a single domestic carrier called Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC). After this on 10 October 1953, Deccan Airways resigned its associate membership of IATA.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Accidents and incidents
- 5 April 1950
- A Deccan Airways C-47A (registration VT-CJD) crashed at Hatiara, while attempting to return to Dum Dum Airport after an engine failed, killing all three crew;[8]
- 21 November 1951
- A Deccan Airways C-47A (registration VT-AUO) crashed at Dum Dum Airport, while attempting to attempt to land was made in extremely poor visibility conditions, killing all four crew and thirteen passengers;[9]
- 19 February 1952
- A Deccan Airways C-47A (registration VT-AXE) crashed on landing at Sonegaon Airport due to pilot error and possible misread altimeter, killing three of 16 on board.[10]
- 30 April 1952
- A Deccan Airways C-47A (registration VT-AUN) crashed at Safdarjung Airport, Delhi due to engine failure, killing four crew and five passengers.[11]
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References
- ↑ "Economic Weekly" (PDF). The Economic Weekly. 29 March 1952. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ↑ "Hyderabad, The City Of Wings As Well". The New Indian Express. 15 March 2014. Retrieved August 2014. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "100 Years of Civil Aviation in India - Milestones". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 25 January 2011. Retrieved August 2014. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "A tome on the aviation history of the Deccan". The Hindu. 25 May 2014. Retrieved August 2014. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Commercial Aviation in India: A Multifaceted Story". India Strategic. March 2014. Retrieved August 2014. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "PM Reddy: An aviator and engineer par excellence". Times of India. 4 May 2014. Retrieved August 2014. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ IATA Bulletin, Volume 15-22. International Air Transport Association. 1952. Retrieved 10 Sep 2009.
- ↑ Accident description for VT-CJD at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 25 August 2014.
- ↑ Accident description for VT-AUO at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 25 August 2014.
- ↑ Accident description for VT-AXE at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 May 2013.
- ↑ Accident description for VT-AUN at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 25 August 2014.