1994 Indira Gandhi International Airport collision

Accident
Date	8 March 1994
Summary	Loss of control after takeoff due to pilot error during a training exercise
Site	Near Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport, India 28°33′18″N77°05′02″E / 28.555°N 77.084°E / 28.555; 77.084
Total fatalities	9
Total injuries	4
First aircraft
The 737-200 involved in 1987, while operating for Busy Bee and in a previous registration
Type	Boeing 737-200
Operator	Sahara India Airlines
Call sign	VICTOR INDIA ALPHA
Registration	VT-SIA
Flight origin	Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport, India
Destination	Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport, India
Occupants	4
Passengers	0
Crew	4
Fatalities	4
Survivors	0
Second aircraft
The Ilyushin Il-86 involved in 1992 in a previous registration
Type	Ilyushin Il-86
Operator	Aeroflot
IATA flight No.	SU558
ICAO flight No.	AFL558
Call sign	AEROFLOT 558
Registration	RA-86119
Flight origin	Changi Airport, Singapore
Stopover	Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport, India
Destination	Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow
Occupants	4
Passengers	0
Crew	4
Fatalities	4
Survivors	0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	1
Ground injuries	4

On 8 March 1994, a Sahara India Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after takeoff during a training exercise at Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport, India. The plane slammed into an Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-86, which led to both aircraft being destroyed. All 6 crew members on both planes were killed, along with two other Aeroflot employees on the Ilyushin and one person on the ground. There were no passengers on either aircraft during the crash. The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error. ^{[1] [2]}

Contents

• Aircraft
• Flight crew
• Accident
• Investigation
• References

Aircraft

The accident aircraft, a Boeing 737-200, registration number VT-SIA, was manufactured for Busy Bee in 1979 and had made its first flight on April 25, 1979. It was sold to Sahara India Airlines in October 1993 and was almost 15 years old at the time of the accident. It was equipped with 2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17 engines. ^[1]

Flight crew

The flight crew consisted of a flight instructor and three trainee pilots. ^{[1] [2]}

Accident

At about 2:54 pm on Tuesday, March 8, 1994, the Boeing 737-200 took off from Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport, India, on the sixth of a planned series of touch-and-go landings. After climbing to 400–500 feet (120–150 m), it banked left and crashed at the International Terminal apron. The wreckage collided with an Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-86 aircraft, registration number RA-86119, Flight 558, which was parked on Bay No. 45 after making an unscheduled layover and undergoing repairs. The Ilyushin was fully loaded with fuel and also caught fire as a result of the impact. Both aircraft were destroyed and all 4 crew members on board the Boeing were killed, as well as all 4 Aeroflot employees on board the Ilyushin: 2 crew members, a ground engineer, and an airport worker. Additionally, an employee of Bharat Petroleum, the airport fuel supplier, was killed on the tarmac. ^{[1] [2]} At least two air bridges and other ground facilities were damaged. ^[2]

Investigation

An investigation by the India Commercial Pilot Association (ICPA) revealed that the accident occurred due to application of the incorrect rudder by a trainee pilot during the exercise. The flight instructor, who was making his first flight as an instructor, ^[2] did not guard or block the rudder control and did not give clear commands to avoid the application of the wrong rudder control by the trainee pilot. ^{[1] [2]}

References