From Boeing’s MCAS failures to a collision between two aircraft in mid-air, there have been many accidents involving Indian Airlines in its affairs. And with the recent news of the aircraft issues in SpiceJet, Vistara and Indigo, let’s take a look back at seven major crashes in recent history.
Air India Express Flight 1344
On 7 August 2020, Boeing 737 aircraft from Dubai skidded off the runway during rain and broke in two after landing. The impact in the southern state of Kerela at the Calicut airport killed 21 of 190 passengers, including both pilots. The plane was repatriating Indians stranded by the coronavirus pandemic.
Lion Air 610 crash
On 29 October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea. It hit within 13 minutes of taking off in Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board. It was one of the first accidents involving Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft. The investigators’ report revealed the fault of software called ‘Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System’ (MCAS). The system kept overriding the pilots’ instructions and pushed the aircraft’s nose to crash at 450 mph.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
In another crash with a faulty MCAS, the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed on 10 March 2019. Killing all 157 passengers, it crashed within six minutes of its take-off from Ethiopia. It was slamming to Earth at 700 miles per hour, 40 miles from the airport. It came to a later revelation that the training provided to the pilots proved inadequate.
Malaysia Airlines 370 accident
On 8 March 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight 270 disappeared with 227 passengers and 12 crew members. The first piece of debris was discovered on 29 July 2015 on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. In July 2018, the Malaysian government released the final report; they could not precisely determine the cause of the disappearance.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
A Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 on 7 July 2014 cashed in Eastern Ukraine, killing all its 298 passengers on board. Since most passengers were from the Netherlands, a Dutch investigation in 2015 found that a Russian-made missile hit the aircraft.
Mangalore Air India accident
An Air India Express Flight 812 overshot the runway at the Mangalore airport and fell into a gorge on 22 May 2010. The aircraft caught fire, and a total of 158 people died, with just eight survivors. In an inquiry, the captain’s negligence to suspend the use of an “unstable approach”, despite calls to turn around, came the cause of the crash.
Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision
Saudi Arabian Flight 763 and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 on 12 November 1996 collided mid-air, killing 349 passengers on both flights. Flight 763 took off, climbed at 14,000 ft., was ordered to stay, and flight 1907, at 15,000 ft., was warned by ATC of the upcoming traffic. Though both flights did register the warnings, they still collided, making this the worst mid-air collision ever.
