49 Years ago today: On 31 May 1973 an Indian Airlines Boeing 737-2A8 collided with high tension wires and crashed near Delhi; killing 48 out of 65 occupants.
| Date: | Thursday 31 May 1973 |
| Time: | 21:58 |
| Type: | Boeing 737-2A8 |
| Operator: | Indian Airlines |
| Registration: | VT-EAM |
| MSN: | 20486/279 |
| First flight: | 1971-03-26 (2 years 2 months) |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 7 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 43 / Occupants: 58 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 48 / Occupants: 65 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 6 km (3.8 mls) from Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) ( |
| Phase: | Approach (APR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Madras Airport (MAA/VOMM), India |
| Destination airport: | Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL/VIDP), India |
| Flightnumber: | IC440 |
Narrative:
The Boeing 737 named “Saranga” collided with high tension wires during an NDB instrument approach, crashed and caught fire. The visibility was below minima, but the pilot continued the approach, descended below minimum descent altitude and selected 40deg. flaps without sighting the runway.
The plane had taken off from Madras at 19:15.
