Status:
Date:	15 FEB 1966
Type:	Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VIN
Operator:	Indian Airlines
Registration:	VT-DPP
C/n / msn:	130
First flight:	1963
Total airframe hrs:	5411
Crew:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7
Passengers:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 73
Total:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 80
Airplane damage:	Written off
Airplane fate:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	Delhi-Palam Airport (DEL) (India)
Phase:	Approach (APR)
Nature:	Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:	Calcutta Airport (CCU/VECC), India
Destination airport:	Delhi-Palam Airport (DEL/VIDP), India

Narrative:
The Caravelle undershot runway 28 in conditions of poor visibility. The aircraft struck a cement pillar and other obstructions and caught fire.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The Government has accepted that the aircraft undershot and crashed as a result of the abandonment of the ILS approach at too early a stage during an attempt to land under conditions of poor visibility in fog.
Contributory causes: 1) Lack of information with the pilot regarding the true conditions of surface visibility, which was in fact below the minimum prescribed for a night landing by Caravelle aircraft on runway 28 at Palam. 2) Lack of proper monitoring and possibly incorrect setting of altimeter(s) during the approach to land. 3) The use of landing lights which resulted in glare during the final stages of the approach in foggy conditions."

Events:

Sources:
» ICAO Circular 88-AN/74 Volume II (64-74)