Japan Air Lines Flight 472 (1972)

Last updated
Japan Air Lines Flight 472
JA8013 Douglas DC-8-53 Tokyo Haneda 1969 (cropped).jpg
JA8013, the aircraft involved in the accident in 1969, with a previous livery
Accident
Date24 September 1972 (1972-09-24)
SummaryRunway excursion due to pilot error
Site Juhu Aerodrome, Bombay, India
19°05′57″N72°50′20″E / 19.09917°N 72.83889°E / 19.09917; 72.83889
Aircraft
Aircraft type Douglas DC-8-53
Aircraft nameHaruna
Operator Japan Air Lines
IATA flight No.JL472
ICAO flight No.JAL472
Call signJAPAN AIR 472
Registration JA8013
Flight origin London Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
Stopover Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany
1st stopover Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy
2nd stopover Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, Beirut, Lebanon
3rd stopover Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran, Iran
4th stopover Santacruz Airport, Bombay, India
5th stopover Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
Last stopover Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong
Destination Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan
Occupants122
Passengers108
Crew14
Fatalities0
Injuries11
Survivors122

Japan Air Lines Flight 472 was a flight from London to Tokyo via Frankfurt, Rome, Beirut, Tehran, Bombay, Bangkok and Hong Kong. On September 24, 1972, the flight landed at Juhu Aerodrome near Bombay, India instead of the city's much larger Santacruz Airport (now Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport) and overran the runway, resulting in the aircraft being written off after being damaged beyond economic repair.

Contents

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Douglas DC-8-53, registration JA8013. The aircraft was c/n 45681. It had first flown in 1964. [1]

Accident

The flight departed London 20 minutes late. By the time it left Tehran for Bombay, it was 80 minutes behind schedule. The crew planned to execute an ILS approach to Santacruz Airport, Bombay. However, the air traffic controller (ATC) asked the crew, "Can you see the runway?", to which they replied, "Yes, we can". Since the weather was good around the airport that day, the ATC instructed, "VFR approach please".

After this, Flight 472 flew past Runway 09 on the west side of Santacruz Airport while descending, and executed a 360-degree turn in order to approach again from the west and land. However, when it did land at 06:50 local time (01:20 UTC), it was in fact landing on Runway 08 of Juhu Aerodrome. Juhu is 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi; 2.0 nmi) west of Santacruz, and for use by small aircraft only. [1] Runway 08 of Juhu was only 1,143 metres (3,750 ft) long, too short for the large aircraft operating Flight 472.[ citation needed ]

After deploying the thrust reversers, the captain realized the mistake and immediately deployed spoilers and applied maximum braking power, but an overrun was inevitable. The DC-8 overshot the runway, breaking off both engines on the port wing, and damaging the front and main landing gear, causing the nose of the aircraft to dive into the ground. The wreckage caught fire, but the fire was soon put out by fire extinguishers.

At the time of the accident, there were 14 crew and 108 passengers on board. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair. [1] 2 cockpit crew and 9 passengers (all non-Japanese)[ clarification needed ] were reported injured[ citation needed ]. It was the second Japan Airlines accident in India, coming just two months after the fatal crash of Japan Air Lines Flight 471 in Delhi.

Cause

The accident was attributed to pilot error. However, the Indian authorities were also blamed for operating an airport for small aircraft so close to Santacruz, causing confusion (see similar incidents below). Another factor was that during the 360-degree turn Flight 472 faced the sun and morning mist, and the cockpit crew lost sight of the runway. When they suddenly saw the runway of Juhu Aerodrome, they mistook it for the runway of Santacruz, and landed on it.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport</span> International airport in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in India in terms of total and international passenger traffic after Delhi, and was the ninth busiest airport in Asia and 25th busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic in fiscal year 2023–24.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air China Flight 129</span> 2002 aviation accident in South Korea

Air China Flight 129 (CCA129/CA129) was a scheduled international passenger flight, operated by Air China, from Beijing Capital International Airport to Gimhae International Airport in Busan. On 15 April 2002, the aircraft on this route, a Boeing 767-200ER, crashed into a hill near the airport, killing 129 of the 166 people on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juhu Aerodrome</span> Airport in Maharashtra, India

Juhu Aerodrome is located in Juhu, an upmarket residential suburb of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is served primarliy by general aviation aircraft and helicopters. It was founded in 1928 as India's first civil aviation airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Airlines Flight 383 (1965)</span> 1965 aviation accident in the United States

American Airlines Flight 383 was a nonstop flight from New York City to Cincinnati on November 8, 1965. The aircraft was a Boeing 727, with 57 passengers, and 5 crew on board. The aircraft crashed on final approach to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport located in Hebron, Kentucky, United States. Only three passengers and one flight attendant survived the crash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai Airways International Flight 311</span> 1992 aviation accident in Kathmandu

Thai Airways International Flight 311 (TG311/THA311) was a flight from Bangkok, Thailand's Don Mueang International Airport to Kathmandu, Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport. On Friday, 31 July 1992, an Airbus A310-304 on the route crashed on approach to Kathmandu. At 07:00:26 UTC, the aircraft crashed into the side of a mountain 37 kilometres north of Kathmandu at an altitude of 11,500 ft (3,505 m) and a ground speed of 300 knots, killing all 113 passengers and crew members on board. This was both the first hull loss and the first fatal accident involving the Airbus A310.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance Air Flight 7412</span> 2000 aviation accident in Patna, Bihar, India

Alliance Air Flight 7412 was a scheduled Indian domestic passenger flight from Calcutta to Delhi, operated by Indian regional airliner Alliance Air. On 17 July 2000, while on approach to its first stopover in Patna, the Boeing 737-2A8 operating the route nose-dived and crashed into a residential area in Patna, killing 60 people including 5 on the ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Southern Airlines Flight 3456</span> 1997 passenger plane crash in Shenzhen, China

China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 (CZ3456/CSN3456) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport to Shenzhen Huangtian Airport. On 8 May 1997, the Boeing 737 performing this route crashed during the second attempt to land in a thunderstorm. The flight number 3456 is still used by China Southern and for the Chongqing-Shenzhen route but now with the Airbus A320 family or Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Airlines Flight 113</span> 1988 aviation accident

Indian Airlines Flight 113 was a flight operating from Mumbai to Ahmedabad that crashed on its final approach to Ahmedabad Airport on 19 October 1988, killing 133 of the 135 people on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Airlines Flight 257</span> 1991 Aircraft crash

Indian Airlines Flight 257 was an Indian Airlines domestic passenger flight operating on the Calcutta–Imphal–Dimapur route. On 16 August 1991, the Boeing 737-2A8 registered VT-EFL crashed into the hilly terrain of Thangjing Hill during its descent, killing all 63 passengers and 6 crew members on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing 747 hull losses</span>

As of July 2020, a total of 64 Boeing 747 aircraft, or just above 4% of the total number of 747s built, first flown commercially in 1970, have been involved in accidents and incidents resulting in a hull loss, meaning that the aircraft was either destroyed or damaged beyond economical repair. Of the 64 Boeing 747 aircraft losses, 32 resulted in no loss of life; in one, a hostage was murdered; and in one, a terrorist died. Some of the aircraft that were declared damaged beyond economical repair were older 747s that sustained relatively minor damage. Had these planes been newer, repairing them might have been economically viable, although with the 747's increasing obsolescence, this is becoming less common. Some 747s have been involved in accidents resulting in the highest death toll of any civil aviation accident, the highest death toll of any single airplane accident, and the highest death toll of a midair collision. As with most airliner accidents, the root of cause(s) in these incidents involved a confluence of multiple factors that rarely could be ascribed to flaws with the 747's design or its flying characteristics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895</span> 2008 aviation accident

Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895, was a Boeing 737-200, registered as EX-009, operating a charter flight operated by Itek Air on behalf of Iran Aseman Airlines which crashed on 24 August 2008 near Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan while en route to Imam Khomeini International Airport, Tehran, Iran. It crashed while returning to the airport of origin after experiencing technical difficulties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviastar-TU Flight 1906</span> 2010 aviation accident

Aviastar-TU Flight 1906 was a Tupolev Tu-204 that crashed while attempting to land at Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia, in heavy fog on 22 March 2010. The aircraft was on a ferry flight from Hurghada International Airport, Egypt to Moscow, and had no passengers on board; all eight crew survived the accident, four with serious injuries requiring hospitalization and four with minor injuries. The accident was the first hull loss of a Tu-204 and the first hull loss for Aviastar-TU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varig Flight 810</span> 1962 aviation accident

Varig Flight 810 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro to Los Angeles with stopovers in Lima, Bogotá, Panama City, and Mexico City. On 27 November 1962, the Boeing 707-441 operating the route crashed into a mountain on approach to Lima, killing all 97 passengers and crew. At the time it was the deadliest aviation accident in Peru until being surpassed by LANSA Flight 502 in 1971 and later Faucett Perú Flight 251 in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Saha Airlines Boeing 707 crash</span> Aviation accident

On 14 January 2019, a Boeing 707 operated by Saha Airlines on a cargo flight crashed at Fath Air Base, near Karaj, Alborz Province in Iran. Fifteen of the sixteen people on board were killed. This aircraft was the last civil Boeing 707 in operation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  2. "Lotnicze pomyłki: Boeing na Krzesinach" [Aviation mistakes: Boeing at Krzesiny]. lotniczapolska.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2016-06-30.