| Date: | Thursday 15 May 1958 |
| Time: | 20:18 |
| Type: |  Convair CV-240-7 |
| Owner/operator: | Pakistan International Airlines - PIA |
| Registration: | AP-AEH |
| MSN: | 52 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1948 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 12668 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 21 / Occupants: 38 |
| Other fatalities: | 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Delhi-Palam Airport (DEL) -
 India
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Delhi-Palam Airport (DEL/VIDP) |
| Karachi International Airport (KHI/OPKC) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The PIA Convair CV-240 aircraft had landed at Delhi-Palam at 19:02 hours following an uneventful flight from Karachi. It was prepared for the return flight and taxied to runway 27 for departure. It was a moonless night and the visibility was almost 3 km due to dust haze. Takeoff was away from the built up area so there were no visual reference points and there was nothing which could have given the pilot a natural horizon. Takeoff was commenced at 20:18. Shortly after becoming airborne the landing gear was raised. Then the airplane began to descend again. It struck the ground at a shallow nose-down angle with the port wing slightly low and caught fire.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The captain did not properly observe and interpret his flight instruments and thus inadvertently permitted the aircraft to descend to the ground immediately after a night takeoff during which no visual reference was possible. A contributory factor may have been the slow reactions of the captain due to his state of health."
Sources:
ICAO Accident Digest, Circular 59-AN/54 (135-138)
Location
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