Nearly 4 decades ago, Air India flight 855 headed for Dubai, only to be turned into smoke within minutes of its take-off.
This flight was termed Emperor Ashoka and advertised as ‘Your Palace in the Sky’.
It was New Year’s Day in 1978, the flight departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport at Santacruz. But it underwent a downward spiral crashing 3 km off the Bandra coastline at Bandstand.
You will be shocked to know that the crash happened within 4 minutes after take off.
Yes, before anyone could even realize what’s happening, every single soul on board, including 23 crew members and 190 passengers had a sad demise.
It was said that the crash happened due to engine malfunction and pilot error
When the Air Boeing 747 took off, pilot, Captain M L Kukar turned right en route, and at a higher altitude, the flight leveled. However, the Attitude Direction Indicator (ADI) suggested the flight was still banking towards the right.
Although the co-pilot’s monitor showed left banking, they presumed that both the monitors had toppled or were malfunctioning. It was after sunset, so there was no way to verify by looking outside if they had leveled. Hence, the captain continued to turn the plane to the left to align it.
Flight engineer Alfred Jose Faria may have tried to get the captain’s attention to the third backup monitor regarding the plane’s attitude just 5 seconds before the crash.
But, as they say, sometimes years of experience deceive you. The flight hit the Arabian Sea at an estimated 35-degree nose down angle.
The victims’ families sued the Boeing company. However, the case was dismissed on 1st November 1985. They termed it as negligence of the flight attendants and the inability of the cabin crew to manage the situation.
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