Narrative:
A no. 2 engine failure after takeoff from runway 27 forced the crew to return to Mumbai (Bombay). A fire erupted in the no. 2 engine area, reaching the hydraulic reservoir (located aft of the pressure bulkhead), draining it of all but accumulated pressure.
Pitch control was lost while on approach to runway 09; the aircraft crashed 45-deg. nose down into the ground from a height of 300 feet, 1000 feet short of the runway.
PROBABLE CAUSE: 10th Stage compressor disc failure; fuel lines were severed by debris, causing a fire in the no.2 engine area. The fire spread because the crew didn't shut off the fuel supply.
Loss of control
» St. Petersburg Times - Oct 12, 1976
| Status: | |
| Date: | Tuesday 12 October 1976 |
| Time: | 01:35 |
| Type: |  Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VI-N |
| Operator: | Indian Airlines |
| Registration: | VT-DWN |
| MSN: | 231 |
| First flight: | 1967 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 89 / Occupants: 89 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 95 / Occupants: 95 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Bombay-Santacruz Airport (BOM) ( India)
|
| Crash site elevation: | 11 m (36 feet) amsl |
| Phase: | Approach (APR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Bombay-Santacruz Airport (BOM/VABB), India |
| Madras Airport (MAA/VOMM), India | |
| Flightnumber: | 171 |
A no. 2 engine failure after takeoff from runway 27 forced the crew to return to Mumbai (Bombay). A fire erupted in the no. 2 engine area, reaching the hydraulic reservoir (located aft of the pressure bulkhead), draining it of all but accumulated pressure.
Pitch control was lost while on approach to runway 09; the aircraft crashed 45-deg. nose down into the ground from a height of 300 feet, 1000 feet short of the runway.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: 10th Stage compressor disc failure; fuel lines were severed by debris, causing a fire in the no.2 engine area. The fire spread because the crew didn't shut off the fuel supply.
Classification:
Uncontained engine failureLoss of control
Sources:
» Flight International 21 October 1978 (1459)» St. Petersburg Times - Oct 12, 1976
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Bombay-Santacruz Airport to Madras Airport as the crow flies is 1028 km (642 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
Distance from Bombay-Santacruz Airport to Madras Airport as the crow flies is 1028 km (642 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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Caravelle
India- 2nd worst accident (at the time)
- 6th worst accident (currently)
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