Chandigarh

For unknown reason, the aircraft seems to be unstable on landing. Upon touchdown, the right wing hit the ground and was torn off. Out of control, the aircraft veered off runway, went through a grassy area and came to rest upside down, bursting into flames. All nine occupants escaped with minor injuries and the aircraft was destroyed.

On 25.03.2014, the operator received the travel programme for 27.3.2014, of Hon'ble Governor of Haryana from Chandigarh to Delhi. On 26.3.2014, the operations department took the flight clearances and filed the passenger manifest with the ATC and other concerned agencies. The flight plan was filed by a CPL holder, who is working as flight dispatcher with the Government of Haryana. The departure on 27.3.2014 was fixed at 1130 hrs. The cockpit crew reported at 1045 hrs for the flight. Pre flight medical examination including the breath analyzer test was carried out at 1100 hrs. The breath analyzer test for both the cockpit crew members was negative. Pre flight briefing among the crew members was carried out by using the documents prepared by the flight dispatcher. The aircraft was taxied under its own power from Haryana Government Hangar to bay no. D-2 in front of ATC building. No abnormality was observed or reported on the aircraft during this taxiing. The engines were shut down for passenger embarkation. As per the passenger manifest, in addition to the pilot and co-pilot there were 8 passengers. The baggage on board was approx. 50 lbs. There was 2100 lbs. of fuel on board. After boarding of the passengers, the aircraft engines were started at 1130 hrs. The aircraft was cleared for departure abeam „D‟ link. The aircraft was taxied out via taxiway „D‟. After ATC departure clearance the aircraft was lined up for take-off. On clearance from ATC the take off roll was initiated and all the parameters were found normal. As per the pilot just before getting airborne some stiffness was found in rudder control as is felt in yaw damper engagement. The aircraft then pulled slightly to the left which as per the Commander was controllable. As per the pilot, the rotation was initiated at 98 knots. As per the DATCO the aircraft had lifted up to 10-15 feet AGL. The Commander has stated that after lift-off, immediately the left rudder got locked in forward position resulting in the aircraft yawing and rolling to left. The pilots tried to control it with right bank but the aircraft could not be controlled. Within 3-4 seconds of getting airborne the aircraft impacted the ground in left bank attitude. The initial impact was on pucca (tar road) and the wing has taken the first impact loads with lower surface metallic surface rubbing and screeching on ground. After the aircraft came to final halt, the co-pilot opened the door and evacuation was carried out. There was no injury to any of the occupants. The engine conditions lever could not be brought back as these were stuck. The throttle and pitch levers were retarded. The fuel shut off valves were closed. Battery and avionics were put off. Friction lock nuts were found loose. As per the Commander, after ensuring safety of passengers he had gone to cockpit to confirm that all switches were „off‟. At that time he has loosened the friction lock nuts to bring back the condition lever and throttle lever. However even after loosening the nut it was not possible to bring back these levers. Fire fighting vehicles were activated by pressing crash bell and primary alarm. Hand held RT set was used to announce the crash. RCFF vehicles proceeded to the site via runway and reported all the 10 personnel are safe and out of the disabled aircraft. Water and complementary agents (foam and dry chemical powder) were used. After fire was extinguished, the Fire Fighting vehicles reported back at crash bay except one CFT which was held at crash site under instruction of COO. The aircraft was substantially damaged. There was no fire barring burning of small patch of grass due coming in contact with the hot surfaces and oil. There was no injury to any of the occupants. The accident occurred in day light conditions.

On 29.10.2008 Punjab Government King Air C90 aircraft, VT-EHY met with an accident while operating flight from Chandigarh to Ludhiana. This accident was notified to DGCA by ATC at Ludhiana and Punjab Government officials shortly after the occurrence. The accident occurred when the aircraft was in the process of making second attempt for landing at Ludhiana Airport. The accident was investigated by Inspector of Accident under Rule 71 of Aircraft Rules, 1937. As per the obligations under ICAO Annex 13, notification was sent to USA, the country of aircraft manufacture, Canada, the country of engine manufacture and ICAO. Transport Safety Board Canada appointed an accredited representative and authorized engine manufacturer M/s P&W to associate with investigation of engines. Low visibility conditions were prevailing at Ludhiana at the time of accident. Due to which the crew located the runway late. They were estimating their position based on GPS. Though they did spot the runway at some stage of the approach, they lost sight of it again and were unable to locate it subsequently. They carried out orbits on the right side (East Side) of R/w 12 in an effort to visually locate the runway and then followed non standard procedure to land. Not comfortable with the approach, the crew decided to go around. Due to low visibility and that they probably did not want to lose the sight of the airfield, carried out non-standard go around. In their anxiety not to lose the sight of the field they descended in three orbits in the vicinity of the airfield on the west side of R/w 12, perhaps to land after making the short circuit from the right. However, due to smoke in the cockpit, severe disorientation, lack of qualification & experience on type of aircraft and on sighting the communication tower, the panic gripped the crew. In their anxiety, the control was lost and aircraft impacted the ground in the steep left bank. Aircraft was destroyed in the crash due to impact and post impact fire. Both the occupant on board died due to fire and collapsing aircraft structure.

The twin engine aircraft departed Chandigarh Airport at 0850LT on a flight to Kulu-Bhuntar, carrying eight passengers and three crew members, among them Surendra Nath, Governor of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh along with his family members. While in cruising altitude, the crew encountered limited visibility due to cumulus when the aircraft struck trees and rocks and crashed on the slope of a mountain located in the Kamrunag Mountain Range, about 18,5 km southeast of Sundar Nagar, some 50 km south of Kulu-Bhuntar Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all 11 occupants were killed.

In the evening, a formation of nine Antonov AN-32 operated by the Indian Air Force departed Chandigarh Airport for a training mission. While cruising by night, the n°3 in the formation mistook the first aircraft to be the second and elected to regain his position. Doing so, The AN-32 registered K2669 collided with another AN-32 registered K3055 that was positioned to its right. Following the collision, both aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a wheatfield located near Boothgarh. Both aircraft were destroyed and all eight crew members (4 crew in each aircraft) were killed.

In the evening, a formation of nine Antonov AN-32 operated by the Indian Air Force departed Chandigarh Airport for a training mission. While cruising by night, the n°3 in the formation mistook the first aircraft to be the second and elected to regain his position. Doing so, The AN-32 registered K2669 collided with another AN-32 registered K3055 that was positioned to its right. Following the collision, both aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a wheatfield located near Boothgarh. Both aircraft were destroyed and all eight crew members (4 crew in each aircraft) were killed.

Indian Airlines flight IC422 was a domestic service from Srinagar to Delhi via Jammu and Chandigarh, India. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-200, landed gear up on runway 10 at Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport. The left engine then caught fire due to a fuel leak from ruptured fuel lines and a broken fuel control unit. The fire was quickly put out by fire services. All 134 occupants evacuated safely.

On final approach to Leh, the pilot reported technical problems when the airplane lost height, struck a house and crashed in a huge explosion less than 2 km short of runway threshold. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 77 occupants were killed as well as one people on the house.

The four engine aircraft departed Chandigarh on a flight to Leh, carrying 98 passengers, soldiers and family members. While descending to Leh, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with snowstorm and the captain made a 180 turn to return to Chandigarh as a landing at Leh Airport was impossible. Few minutes later, while cruising in zero visibility at an altitude of 22,000 feet, the airplane struck the slope of a snow covered mountain located near the Rohtang Pass, Himachal Pradesh. As the airplane failed to return to Chandigarh, SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few weeks later as no trace of the aircraft no the 102 occupants was found. Some debris were found in August 2003 at an altitude of 5,400 meters in the Dhaka Glacier and three bodies in August 2007.

Upon landing at Chandigarh Airport, the nose gear collapsed. The airplane slid for several yards before coming to rest. There were no injuries but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.