Today, tragedy struck from the skies above Gujarat. The loss of Air India Flight AI171 and the 242 souls on board is a heart wrenching event that has shaken the nation. As we watch the tragic scenes unfold, it's impossible not to be reminded of past aviation disasters, each one of these dark chapters in a history we wish we could forget.
Airport Disaster (1977)
This disaster claimed 583 lives when two Boeing 747 jumbo jets collided on a runway in thick fog. The flights involved were KLM Flight 4805 from Amsterdam and Pan Am Flight 1736 from Los Angeles, both of which had been diverted to Tenerife.
According to the final report by Spanish authorities, the accident was caused by a tragic misunderstanding in radio communications between the KLM pilot and air traffic control.
Japan Airlines Flight 123 (1985)
On a domestic flight from Tokyo to Osaka, a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 crashed into a mountain, resulting in 520 casualties. The official investigation by Japan's Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission concluded that a faulty repair to the plane's rear pressure bulkhead years earlier had failed, leading to a catastrophic loss of aircraft control.
Charkhi Dadri Mid-Air Collision (1996)
This crash over India involved Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763, flying from New Delhi to Dhahran, and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, flying from Kazakhstan to New Delhi.
The two planes collided head-on, claiming 349 lives. The investigation, led by the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), determined the cause was the Kazakhstani crew's failure to maintain their assigned altitude.
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (1974)
This flight, traveling from Istanbul to London with a stop in Paris, crashed shortly after departing from Paris, killing all 346 people on board. The French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) found that a poorly latched cargo door blew open mid-flight.
This caused an explosive decompression that collapsed the cabin floor, severing the cables needed to control the plane.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (2014)
This flight, with 239 people on board, was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it vanished. Its communication systems were turned off, and it disappeared from radar.
Despite the largest search in aviation history, the main body of the plane has never been found. It is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean, but the mystery of what happened remains unsolved.
The Boeing 737 MAX Crashes (2018 & 2019)
Two new Boeing 737 MAX planes crashed within five months of each other: Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in Ethiopia. A total of 346 people were killed.
Investigations found that a new flight control software (MCAS) had malfunctioned, repeatedly pushing the nose of the planes down until the pilots lost control. These tragedies led to all 737 MAX aircraft being grounded worldwide for nearly two years.
Plane Crashes In India
Air India Flight 855 (1978)
On New Year's Day, just moments after taking off from Mumbai for a flight to Dubai, the majestic Boeing 747 named Emperor Ashoka banked into the dark night sky and plunged directly into the Arabian Sea. In the cockpit, a critical instrument had failed, leading the captain to become spatially disoriented.
Thinking he was correcting the plane's path, he was unknowingly guiding it into a fatal dive. The aircraft hit the water at immense speed, disintegrating and ending the lives of all 213 passengers and crew in a terrifying instant just two minutes after their journey began.
Indian Airlines Flight 605 (1990)
As it prepared for a routine landing in Bangalore, a modern Airbus A320 on a flight from Mumbai suddenly fell from the sky, crashing onto a golf course just short of the runway. The horrifying accident claimed the lives of 92 of the 146 people on board.
The crash sparked a painful national debate about whether pilots were prepared for the new "fly-by-wire" technology in the aircraft. The final investigation determined that the pilots had allowed the plane's speed to drop to a dangerously low level on final approach, a devastating human error that led to the catastrophe.
Alliance Air Flight 7412 (2000)
This flight, travelling from Kolkata to Delhi, was on its approach to a stopover in Patna when tragedy struck. While manoeuvring for landing, the Boeing 737 entered a fatal aerodynamic stall and spiralled out of the sky. It crashed directly into a government housing complex near the airport, erupting in a massive fireball.
The disaster not only killed 55 of the 60 people on the plane but also claimed the lives of five innocent people on the ground, turning a quiet neighbourhood into a scene of unimaginable horror.
