Indian Airlines Flight 440
Boeing 737-2A8 · Controlled flight into terrain
From Chennai International Airport (MAA) to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 48 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 65
- Survivors
- 17
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- 17
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Boeing 737-2A8
- Flight
- IC440
- Aircraft type
- Boeing 737
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- VT-EAM
- Operator
- Indian Airlines
- Onboard fatalities
- 48
- Route
- From Chennai International Airport (MAA)To Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Estimated position: the centre of New Delhi, the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.
From the Wikipedia article
Indian Airlines Flight 440 was a flight on 31 May 1973 operated by a Boeing 737-200 that crashed while on approach to Palam Airport (now Indira Gandhi International Airport) killing 48 of the 65 passengers and crew on board.
Accident
Flight 440 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu to New Delhi. A Boeing 737 named Saranga was used for the flight. As Flight 440 approached Palam International Airport in driving dust and a rainstorm, the aircraft struck high tension wires during a NDB approach with visibility below minimal. The aircraft crashed and caught fire. 48 of the 65 passengers and crew on board Flight 440 perished in the accident. Rescue officials said the survivors were in the front of the aircraft, although one survivor reported sitting in the back row.
The survivors included three Americans and two Japanese. The dead included four Americans, three Britons, and one woman from Yemen. Notable survivors included Bhan Singh Bhaura Member Parliament and V. K. Madhavan Kutty, an eminent journalist and writer. Among the dead was Indian Minister of Iron and Steel Mines, Mohan Kumaramangalam, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Communist Party of India politician K. Baladhandayutham and former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and Indian National Congress politician Devaki Gopidas and Indian businessmen Mallikarjun Reddy Kakani and Raghunatha Reddy Kakani.
Investigation and cause
Cause
Investigators determined the Indian Airlines Flight 440 crash was caused by the crew descending below the minimum decision height.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Indian Airlines Flight 440” (revision 1363393391, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: Indian Airlines Flight 440
- Article
- Indian Airlines Flight 440
- Revision
- 1363393391 · 2026-07-09 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q6019798
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Indian Airlines Flight 440" (page 34940901, revision 1363393391)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- centre of the town the Wikipedia infobox site names (GeoNames, CC BY 4.0)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- airline flight number in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.