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{{Short description|1966 aviation accident}}
{{Wikify|date=July 2007}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2014}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox Airliner accident|name=Air India Flight 101|
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
Date=[[January 24]] [[1966]]|
| name = Air India Flight 101
Type=Instrument malfunction|
| occurrence_type = Accident
Site=Mont Blanc|
| image = Air India Flight 101 VT-DMN crashsite.jpg
Fatalities= 117|
| image_upright = 1.15
Injuries= 0|
| alt =
Aircraft Type= [[Boeing 707|Boeing 707-437]]|
| caption = Crash site of Flight 101
Origin=[[Bombay]]|
| date = {{start date|df=yes|1966|01|24}}
Destination=[[Geneva]]|
| type = [[Controlled flight into terrain]]
Operator=[[Air India]]|
| site = [[Mont Blanc massif]], France
Tail Number= VT-DMN|
| coordinates = {{coord|45|52|40|N|06|52|00|E|source:plwiki_type:event|display=title,inline}}
Passengers= 106|
<!--These 17 entries for single-aircraft occurrence:------>| plane1_image = Air-India Boeing 707-400 Manteufel.jpg
Crew= 11|
| plane1_caption = A similar Air India 707
Survivors = 0|
| aircraft_type = [[Boeing 707]]-437
| aircraft_name = ''[[Kanchenjunga]]''
| operator = [[Air India]]
| IATA = AI101
| ICAO = AIC101
| callsign = AIRINDIA 101
| tail_number = VT-DMN
| origin = [[Sahar International Airport]], [[Bombay]], India
| stopover0 = [[Delhi International Airport]], [[New Delhi]], India
| stopover1 = [[Beirut International Airport]], [[Beirut]], Lebanon
| last_stopover = [[Geneva International Airport]], [[Geneva]], Switzerland
| destination = [[Heathrow Airport]], [[London]], United Kingdom
| occupants = 117
| passengers = 106
| crew = 11
| fatalities = 117
| survivors = 0
}}
}}


'''Air India Flight 101''' was a scheduled [[Air India]] passenger flight that crashed into [[Mont Blanc]] in [[France]] on the morning of [[24 January]] [[1966]].
'''Air India Flight 101''' was a scheduled [[Air India]] passenger flight from [[Bombay]] (present-day Mumbai) to London, via [[New Delhi|Delhi]], [[Beirut]], and [[Geneva]]. On the morning of 24 January 1966 at 8:02 CET, on approach to Geneva, the [[Boeing 707]]-437 operating the flight accidentally crashed into [[Mont Blanc]] in France, killing all 117 people on board. Among the victims was Dr. [[Homi Jehangir Bhabha]], the founder and chairman of the [[Atomic Energy Commission of India]].


The accident occurred just a few hundred feet away from where an Air India [[Lockheed 749 Constellation]] operating as [[Air India Flight 245]] while on a charter flight, had crashed in 1950.<ref name="airwhiners" />


==Accident==
==Accident==
Air India Flight 101 was a scheduled flight from [[Bombay]] to London; and on the day of the accident was operated by a [[Boeing 707]], [[Aircraft registration|registration]] ''VT-DMN'' and named ''Kanchenjunga''.<ref name="ASN" /> The Pilot-In-Command was an 18-year veteran, Captain Joe T. D'Souza.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Haine |first=Colonel Edgar A. |title=Disaster In The Air |publisher=Cornwall Books |year=2000 |isbn=0-8453-4777-2 |location=London |pages=147 |language=English}}</ref> After leaving Bombay, it had made two scheduled stops, at [[Delhi]] and [[Beirut]], and was en route to another stop at [[Geneva]].<ref name="ASN" /> At flight level 190 ({{convert|19,000|ft|m|disp=semicolon}}), the crew was instructed to descend for [[Geneva International Airport]] after the aircraft had passed Mont Blanc.<ref name="ASN" /> The pilot, thinking that he had passed Mont Blanc, started to descend and flew into the [[Mont Blanc massif]] in France near the [[Rocher de la Tournette]], at an elevation of {{Convert|4750|m|0}}.<ref name="ASN" /><ref name="Flight174" /> All 106 passengers and 11 crew were killed.<ref name="Flight174" /><ref name="airwhiners">{{cite news |author=Sean Mendis |date=26 July 2004 |url=http://www.airwhiners.net/whine_cheez/20040726.htm |title=Air India : The story of the aircraft |work=Airwhiners.net |access-date=13 June 2013 |archive-date=24 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724221328/http://www.airwhiners.net/whine_cheez/20040726.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
On the [[24 January|24th of January]] [[1966]] at 0702 [[UTC]], Air India Flight Number 101, a [[Boeing 707-437]] called "Kanchenjunga" [[crashed]] on its regular [[route]] from [[Mumbai]] (Bombay) to [[London]] via [[Delhi]], [[Beirut]] and [[Geneva]]. The [[plane]] was carrying 106 [[passengers]] and 11 [[crew]] members. It crashed into [[Glacier des Bossons]] (Bossons Glacier) on the [[South West]] face of [[Mont Blanc]] in [[France]]. At 4807 [[meter]]s [[altitude]], Mont Blanc is the [[highest]] [[Summit (topography)|summit]] in [[Western Europe]]. There were no survivors. It was quickly determined that the [[Aviator|pilot]] had made a [[navigational]] [[error]] while descending for [[landing]] into Geneva.


==Aircraft==
The Boeing 707-437 VT-DMN had first flown on 5 April 1961 and was delivered new to Air India on 25 May 1961.<ref name="Pither" /> It had flown a total of 16,188 hours.<ref name="Pither" />
It was named ''[[Kanchenjunga]]'', after the third highest mountain in the world.


== Casualties ==
'''FLIGHT 101''' '''– 2nd of two similar accidents:'''
Among the 117 passengers who died was Dr. [[Homi Jehangir Bhabha]], the founder and chairman of the [[Atomic Energy Commission of India]].<ref name="Flight174" />
It was the second time such an [[air disaster]] had occurred on that part of the [[mountain]], both crashes involving [[aircraft]] operated by [[Air India]]. Earlier on [[3 November|3rd of November]] [[1950]] Air India Super Constellation called the "Malabar Princess," carrying 48 passengers and crew had crashed in almost exactly the same spot [[killing]] all on board.


==Investigation==
==Sequence of Events==
At the time, aircrew fixed the position of their aircraft as being above Mont Blanc by taking a [[Bearing (navigation)|cross-bearing]] from one [[VHF omnidirectional range]] (VOR) as they flew along a [[Course (navigation)|track]] from another VOR. However, the accident aircraft departed Beirut with one of its VOR receivers unserviceable.<ref name="ASN" /><ref name="Flight174" />
The [[flight]] to and [[takeoff]] from Beirut were [[routine]], except for a [[failure]] of the no. 2 [[VHF omnidirectional range|VOR]] (VHF Omni-directional Radio Range). At 07:00 [[GMT]] the pilot reported reaching [[Flight level|FL]]190 to Geneva. He was told to [[maintain]] that flight level "unless able to descend [[Visual meteorological conditions|VMC]] (Visual meteorological conditions) one thousand on top". The pilot [[confirmed]] this and added that they were [[passing]] abeam Mont Blanc. The [[Air traffic controller|controller]] noted that the flight wasn't abeam Mont Blanc yet and radioed "you have 5 miles to the Mont Blanc", to which the pilot answered with "[[Roger]]." Flight 101 then started to descend from FL190 until it struck the Mont Blanc at an [[elevation]] of 15585 feet.


The investigation concluded:<ref name="ASN" />
==Passengers==
The [[victims]] consisted of 106 passengers and 11 crew. One of the victims included [[chairman]] of the [[Atomic Energy Commission of India|Indian Atomic Energy Commission]] Dr [[Homi Jehangir Bhabha]], who was on his way to Vienna. The remaining passengers were Indian nationals, 46 of whom were [[sailors]] and 6 were British citizens.


{{bquote|
==Rescue Attempts==
a) The pilot-in-command calculated his position in relation to Mont Blanc and reported his own estimate of this position to the controller; the [[radar]] controller noted a different position of the aircraft and passed a communication to the aircraft which would enable it to change its position.
[[Rescue]] [[teams]] found [[wreckage]] [[scattered]] on the south west side of the mountain, about 1,400ft (427 metres) below the summit.
Gerard Devoussoux, a [[mountain guide]] who was one of the first to arrive at the [[disaster]] scene, said: "Another 15 metres (50ft) and the plane would have missed the rock. It made a huge [[crater]] in the mountain. "Everything was completely pulverised. Nothing was identifiable except for a few [[letters]] and [[packets]]."
[[French]] [[authorities]] radioed back the news that there was virtually no hope of survivors shortly after landing in the area. The search was eventually called off after [[bad]] [[weather]] and poor [[visibility]] hampered rescue efforts.
The Boeing held 200 [[monkeys]] in its [[Cargo|cargo hold]], meant for usage in [[Medical laboratory|medical laboratories]]. According to the rescuers, some of the monkeys had survived and were walking about in the snow.


b) The pilot who, under the mistaken impression that he had passed the ridge leading to the summit and was still at a flight level which afforded sufficient safety clearance over the top of Mont Blanc, continued his descent.
==Investigation==
}}
The [[captain]] of the Air India Boeing 707, who was one of the airline's most [[experienced]] pilots, had radioed the [[control tower]] a few minutes earlier to report that his [[Flight instruments|instruments]] were working fine and the aircraft was flying at 19,000ft (5,791 metres) - at least 3,000ft (514 metres) higher than the Mont Blanc summit.


==Recent discoveries==
"The commission concluded that the most likely [[hypothesis]] was the following:
[[File:Monument Malabar Princess Kanchenjunga Refuge du Nid d'Aigle English text.jpg|thumb|English text of the monument at [[refuge du Nid d'Aigle]] in [[Mont-Blanc Massif]].]]


Much of the wreckage of the crashed Boeing still remains at the crash site. In 2008, a climber found some Indian newspapers dated 23 January 1966.<ref name=BBCjewels>{{cite news |author=Patrick Bodenham |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26436090 |title=The mystery of Mont Blanc's hidden treasure |work=BBC News |date=14 March 2014 |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-date=13 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813064635/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26436090 |url-status=live }}</ref> An engine from [[Air India Flight 245]], which had crashed at virtually the same spot sixteen years earlier in 1950, was also discovered.
a) The pilot-in-command, who knew on leaving Beirut that one of the VORs was unserviceable, miscalculated his position in relation to Mont Blanc and reported his own [[estimate]] of this position to the controller; the [[radar]] controller noted the error, determined the position of the aircraft correctly and passed a communication to the aircraft which, he believed, would enable it to correct its position.;


On 21 August 2012, a {{convert|9|kg|lb|adj=on}} [[jute]] bag of diplomatic mail, stamped "On Indian Government Service, Diplomatic Mail, Ministry of External Affairs", was recovered by a mountain rescue worker and turned over to local police in Chamonix.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9509958/Diplomatic-post-bag-from-1966-Indian-plane-crash-found-on-Mont-Blanc.html |title=Diplomatic post bag from 1966 Indian plane crash found on Mont Blanc |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=30 August 2012 |access-date=28 November 2013 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203232542/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9509958/Diplomatic-post-bag-from-1966-Indian-plane-crash-found-on-Mont-Blanc.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iE1zweyYEwF_sU828t3WmoSS7h6Q?docId=CNG.87a09093caa84ac6dda35a7ddd223788.bd1 |title=Indian diplomatic bag found on Mt Blanc after 46 years |date=August 29, 2012 |work=Agence-France-Presse |access-date=22 February 2019 |archive-date=26 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226122021/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iE1zweyYEwF_sU828t3WmoSS7h6Q?docId=CNG.87a09093caa84ac6dda35a7ddd223788.bd1 |url-status=dead}}</ref> An official with the Indian Embassy in Paris took custody of the mailbag, which was found to be a "Type C" diplomatic pouch meant for newspapers, periodicals, and personal letters. Indian diplomatic pouches "Type A" (classified information) and "Type B" (official communications) are still in use today; "Type C" mailbags were made obsolete with the advent of the Internet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.firstpost.com/india/indian-diplomatic-bag-found-after-46-years-460469.html |title=Indian diplomatic bag found after 46 years |date=18 September 2012 |website=Firstpost.com |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=28 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128200429/http://www.firstpost.com/india/indian-diplomatic-bag-found-after-46-years-460469.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The mailbag was found to contain, among other items, still-white and legible copies of ''[[The Hindu]]'' and ''[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]'' from mid-January 1966, Air India calendars, and a personal letter to the Indian consul-general in New York, C.J.K. Menon.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/279716/diplomatic-bag-reaches-delhi.html |title='Diplomatic bag' reaches New Delhi |newspaper=Deccan Herald |date=19 September 2012 |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223184514/https://www.deccanherald.com/content/279716/diplomatic-bag-reaches-delhi.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The bag was flown back to New Delhi on a regular Air India flight, in the charge of C.R. Barooah, the flight purser. His father, R.C. Barooah, was the flight engineer on Air India Flight 101.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ai-purser-brings-back-diplomatic-bag-lost-in-crash-that-killed-father/1004703/0 |title=AI purser brings back diplomatic bag lost in crash that killed father |newspaper=Indian Express |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=17 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817223712/https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/ai-purser-brings-back-diplomatic-bag-lost-in-crash-that-killed-father/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-09-15 |title=Diplomatic bag lost in air crash brought back home |url=https://assamtribune.com/diplomatic-bag-lost-in-air-crash-brought-back-home |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=assamtribune.com |language=en |archive-date=17 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817223711/https://assamtribune.com/diplomatic-bag-lost-in-air-crash-brought-back-home |url-status=live }}</ref>
b) For want of a sufficiently precise phraseology, the correction was mis-understood by the pilot who, under the mistaken impression that he had passed the ridge leading to the summit and was still at a flight level which afforded sufficient [[safety]] [[clearance]] over the top of Mont Blanc, continued his descent."


In September 2013, a French alpinist found a metal box marked with the Air India logo at the site of the plane crash on Mont Blanc containing rubies, sapphires and emeralds, valued at over €245,000, which he handed in to the police to be returned to the rightful owners.<ref name=BBCjewels/><ref>{{cite news |title=Climber finds treasure trove off Mont Blanc |agency=AFP |publisher=Yahoo News Malaysia |date=26 September 2013 |url=http://my.news.yahoo.com/climber-finds-treasure-trove-off-110608530.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928165421/http://my.news.yahoo.com/climber-finds-treasure-trove-off-110608530.html |archive-date=28 September 2013 }}</ref> As no rightful owners were found, however, in December 2021, the gems were divided up equally between the alpinist and the Chamonix commune: each receiving an amount of stones equivalent to €75,000.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/mont-blanc-jewels-climber-scli-intl/index.html |title=Climber can keep $84,000-worth of jewels he found on Mont Blanc |work=CNN |date=7 December 2021 |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=9 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209195043/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/mont-blanc-jewels-climber-scli-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As part of her research for her book ''Crash au Mont-Blanc'', which tells the story of the two Air India crashes on the mountain, Françoise Rey found a record of a box of emeralds sent to a man named Issacharov in London, described by [[Lloyd's]].<ref name=BBCjewels/> On 11 October 2023, the part belonging to the alpinist was sold at an auction in [[Chambéry]] for €25,000.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.rts.ch/info/monde/14383438-un-tresor-decouvert-sur-un-glacier-du-massif-du-montblanc-vendu-aux-encheres.html | title=Un trésor, découvert sur un glacier du massif du Mont-Blanc, vendu aux enchères | date=11 October 2023 |work=RTS}}</ref>
==Continuing Evidence==
In the eighties, reports came in that pieces of aircraft were being found as the ice melted at the bottom of the Glacier. In both accidents, the two planes shattered into millions of pieces that littered the French and the Italian faces of Mont Blanc. For the last 20 years, the Bossons glacier spits out of its terminal tongue the remnants of the two accidents: bits of metal, wires, etc. It still remains one of France’s worst ever air accidents.


In 2017, Daniel Roche, a Swiss climber who has searched the [[Bossons Glacier]] for wreckage from Air India Flights 245 and 101, found human remains and wreckage including a Boeing 707 aircraft engine.<ref name=Print>{{cite news |url=https://theprint.in/report/the-theories-india-nuclear-energy-pioneer-homi-bhabha/31233/ |title=Sabotage or accident? The theories about how India lost nuclear energy pioneer Homi Bhabha |first=Neera |last=Majumdar |website=ThePrint.in |date=24 January 2018 |access-date=7 September 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212201948/https://theprint.in/report/the-theories-india-nuclear-energy-pioneer-homi-bhabha/31233/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2020, as a result of melting of the glacier, Indian newspapers from 1966 were found in good condition.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53390387 |title=Indian papers resurfacing in French Alps could be from 1966 plane crash |work=BBC News |date=13 July 2020 |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-date=13 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713204430/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53390387 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Statistics==
* 16th loss of a Boeing 707
* 2nd worst accident involving a Boeing 707 (at the time)
* 9th worst accident involving a Boeing 707 (currently)
* 2nd worst accident in France (at the time)
* 5th worst accident in France (currently)


==Flight Number==
==Pop-Culture References==
While it is customary for airlines to retire flight numbers in the aftermath of fatal crashes, Air India continues to use flight number 101, with the route from [[Indira Gandhi International Airport|Delhi]] to [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|New York–JFK]]. The flight is operated by a [[Boeing 777-300ER]], previously operated by a [[Boeing 747-400]].
MOVIE: “[[Amelie]]” (2001) – A news report that pieces of an aircraft, which crashed into a glacier on top of Mont Blanc are emerging from the melting ice at the bottom of the mountain sparks an idea for main character Amelie. To ease an elderly neighbours life long pain of losing her one true love, Amelie forges a love letter which is supposed to have been recovered from the wreckage of the plane to give to the neighbour. [There is no specific reference to Flight 101 or "Malabar Princess".]

On 11 September 2018, Flight 101, a Boeing 777-300ER (registered VT-ALQ), operating from New Delhi to New York JFK airport, suffered multiple instrument failures and was unable to perform an ILS approach into any airport. Because of bad weather, the flight had to hold, resulting in a critical low fuel situation as well. The flight was able to divert to Newark, where it landed safely.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/multiple-failures-low-fuel-zero-visibility-the-inside-story-of-air-india-flight-101-1922754 | title=Multiple Failures, Low Fuel, Zero Visibility: The Inside Story of Air India Flight 101 | access-date=28 February 2024 | archive-date=28 February 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228125620/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/multiple-failures-low-fuel-zero-visibility-the-inside-story-of-air-india-flight-101-1922754 | url-status=live }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
===Notes===
*ICAO Circular Accident Digest 18-I
{{Reflist|refs=
*[http://www.flightsafe.org FlightSafe]
<ref name="ASN">{{ASN accident|id=19660124-0}}</ref>
*[http://www.montblanc.to Mont Blanc]
<ref name="Pither">Pither 1998, p. 291</ref>
<ref name="Flight174">{{cite journal| title= The Air-India Disaster| journal= [[Flight International]]| url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1966/1966%20-%200293.html| page= 174| date= 3 February 1966| access-date= 21 December 2009| archive-date= 25 September 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130925072928/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1966/1966%20-%200293.html| url-status= live}}</ref>
}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last= Pither|first= Tony|title= The Boeing 707 720 and C-135|year= 1998|publisher= [[Air-Britain|Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd]]|location=England |isbn=0-85130-236-X}}
* {{cite book |title=Crash au Mont-Blanc, les fantômes du Malabar Princess et du Kangchenjunga |first=Françoise |last=Rey |location=Chamonix |year=2013 |publisher=Le Petit Montagnard |orig-year=1991 |isbn=9782954272092 |language=fr }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.bea.aero/docspa/1966/v-mn660124/pdf/v-mn660124.pdf Final Report] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20121109201409/http://www.bea.aero/docspa/1966/v-mn660124/pdf/v-mn660124.pdf Archive]) – [[Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile]] {{in lang|fr}}
* Cockburn, Barbara. "[http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/aircraft-pictures/2009/01/air-india-707-crash-wreckage-o.html Air India 707 crash wreckage on Mont Blanc]". ''[[Flight International]]''. 24 January 2009.

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1966}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in France}}
{{Air India}}
{{Portal bar|France|India|Aviation|1960s}}


[[Category:Airliner crashes caused by pilot error]]
[[Category:1966 in France]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 707]]
[[Category:Air India accidents and incidents|101]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1966]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in France]]
[[Category:January 1966 events in Europe]]
[[Category:Mont Blanc]]
[[Category:Deaths on Mont Blanc]]

Latest revision as of 05:06, 29 October 2024

Air India Flight 101
Crash site of Flight 101
Accident
Date24 January 1966 (1966-01-24)
SummaryControlled flight into terrain
SiteMont Blanc massif, France
45°52′40″N 06°52′00″E / 45.87778°N 6.86667°E / 45.87778; 6.86667
Aircraft

A similar Air India 707
Aircraft typeBoeing 707-437
Aircraft nameKanchenjunga
OperatorAir India
IATA flight No.AI101
ICAO flight No.AIC101
Call signAIRINDIA 101
RegistrationVT-DMN
Flight originSahar International Airport, Bombay, India
1st stopoverDelhi International Airport, New Delhi, India
2nd stopoverBeirut International Airport, Beirut, Lebanon
Last stopoverGeneva International Airport, Geneva, Switzerland
DestinationHeathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
Occupants117
Passengers106
Crew11
Fatalities117
Survivors0

Air India Flight 101 was a scheduled Air India passenger flight from Bombay (present-day Mumbai) to London, via Delhi, Beirut, and Geneva. On the morning of 24 January 1966 at 8:02 CET, on approach to Geneva, the Boeing 707-437 operating the flight accidentally crashed into Mont Blanc in France, killing all 117 people on board. Among the victims was Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, the founder and chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.

The accident occurred just a few hundred feet away from where an Air India Lockheed 749 Constellation operating as Air India Flight 245 while on a charter flight, had crashed in 1950.[1]

Accident

[edit]

Air India Flight 101 was a scheduled flight from Bombay to London; and on the day of the accident was operated by a Boeing 707, registration VT-DMN and named Kanchenjunga.[2] The Pilot-In-Command was an 18-year veteran, Captain Joe T. D'Souza.[3] After leaving Bombay, it had made two scheduled stops, at Delhi and Beirut, and was en route to another stop at Geneva.[2] At flight level 190 (19,000 feet; 5,800 m), the crew was instructed to descend for Geneva International Airport after the aircraft had passed Mont Blanc.[2] The pilot, thinking that he had passed Mont Blanc, started to descend and flew into the Mont Blanc massif in France near the Rocher de la Tournette, at an elevation of 4,750 metres (15,584 ft).[2][4] All 106 passengers and 11 crew were killed.[4][1]

Aircraft

[edit]

The Boeing 707-437 VT-DMN had first flown on 5 April 1961 and was delivered new to Air India on 25 May 1961.[5] It had flown a total of 16,188 hours.[5] It was named Kanchenjunga, after the third highest mountain in the world.

Casualties

[edit]

Among the 117 passengers who died was Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, the founder and chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.[4]

Investigation

[edit]

At the time, aircrew fixed the position of their aircraft as being above Mont Blanc by taking a cross-bearing from one VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) as they flew along a track from another VOR. However, the accident aircraft departed Beirut with one of its VOR receivers unserviceable.[2][4]

The investigation concluded:[2]

a) The pilot-in-command calculated his position in relation to Mont Blanc and reported his own estimate of this position to the controller; the radar controller noted a different position of the aircraft and passed a communication to the aircraft which would enable it to change its position.

b) The pilot who, under the mistaken impression that he had passed the ridge leading to the summit and was still at a flight level which afforded sufficient safety clearance over the top of Mont Blanc, continued his descent.

Recent discoveries

[edit]
English text of the monument at refuge du Nid d'Aigle in Mont-Blanc Massif.

Much of the wreckage of the crashed Boeing still remains at the crash site. In 2008, a climber found some Indian newspapers dated 23 January 1966.[6] An engine from Air India Flight 245, which had crashed at virtually the same spot sixteen years earlier in 1950, was also discovered.

On 21 August 2012, a 9-kilogram (20 lb) jute bag of diplomatic mail, stamped "On Indian Government Service, Diplomatic Mail, Ministry of External Affairs", was recovered by a mountain rescue worker and turned over to local police in Chamonix.[7][8] An official with the Indian Embassy in Paris took custody of the mailbag, which was found to be a "Type C" diplomatic pouch meant for newspapers, periodicals, and personal letters. Indian diplomatic pouches "Type A" (classified information) and "Type B" (official communications) are still in use today; "Type C" mailbags were made obsolete with the advent of the Internet.[9] The mailbag was found to contain, among other items, still-white and legible copies of The Hindu and The Statesman from mid-January 1966, Air India calendars, and a personal letter to the Indian consul-general in New York, C.J.K. Menon.[10] The bag was flown back to New Delhi on a regular Air India flight, in the charge of C.R. Barooah, the flight purser. His father, R.C. Barooah, was the flight engineer on Air India Flight 101.[11][12]

In September 2013, a French alpinist found a metal box marked with the Air India logo at the site of the plane crash on Mont Blanc containing rubies, sapphires and emeralds, valued at over €245,000, which he handed in to the police to be returned to the rightful owners.[6][13] As no rightful owners were found, however, in December 2021, the gems were divided up equally between the alpinist and the Chamonix commune: each receiving an amount of stones equivalent to €75,000.[14] As part of her research for her book Crash au Mont-Blanc, which tells the story of the two Air India crashes on the mountain, Françoise Rey found a record of a box of emeralds sent to a man named Issacharov in London, described by Lloyd's.[6] On 11 October 2023, the part belonging to the alpinist was sold at an auction in Chambéry for €25,000.[15]

In 2017, Daniel Roche, a Swiss climber who has searched the Bossons Glacier for wreckage from Air India Flights 245 and 101, found human remains and wreckage including a Boeing 707 aircraft engine.[16] In July 2020, as a result of melting of the glacier, Indian newspapers from 1966 were found in good condition.[17]

Flight Number

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While it is customary for airlines to retire flight numbers in the aftermath of fatal crashes, Air India continues to use flight number 101, with the route from Delhi to New York–JFK. The flight is operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, previously operated by a Boeing 747-400.

On 11 September 2018, Flight 101, a Boeing 777-300ER (registered VT-ALQ), operating from New Delhi to New York JFK airport, suffered multiple instrument failures and was unable to perform an ILS approach into any airport. Because of bad weather, the flight had to hold, resulting in a critical low fuel situation as well. The flight was able to divert to Newark, where it landed safely.[18]

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Sean Mendis (26 July 2004). "Air India : The story of the aircraft". Airwhiners.net. Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
  3. ^ Haine, Colonel Edgar A. (2000). Disaster In The Air. London: Cornwall Books. p. 147. ISBN 0-8453-4777-2.
  4. ^ a b c d "The Air-India Disaster". Flight International: 174. 3 February 1966. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  5. ^ a b Pither 1998, p. 291
  6. ^ a b c Patrick Bodenham (14 March 2014). "The mystery of Mont Blanc's hidden treasure". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Diplomatic post bag from 1966 Indian plane crash found on Mont Blanc". The Daily Telegraph. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Indian diplomatic bag found on Mt Blanc after 46 years". Agence-France-Presse. 29 August 2012. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Indian diplomatic bag found after 46 years". Firstpost.com. 18 September 2012. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  10. ^ "'Diplomatic bag' reaches New Delhi". Deccan Herald. 19 September 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  11. ^ "AI purser brings back diplomatic bag lost in crash that killed father". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  12. ^ "Diplomatic bag lost in air crash brought back home". assamtribune.com. 15 September 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Climber finds treasure trove off Mont Blanc". Yahoo News Malaysia. AFP. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013.
  14. ^ "Climber can keep $84,000-worth of jewels he found on Mont Blanc". CNN. 7 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Un trésor, découvert sur un glacier du massif du Mont-Blanc, vendu aux enchères". RTS. 11 October 2023.
  16. ^ Majumdar, Neera (24 January 2018). "Sabotage or accident? The theories about how India lost nuclear energy pioneer Homi Bhabha". ThePrint.in. Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Indian papers resurfacing in French Alps could be from 1966 plane crash". BBC News. 13 July 2020. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Multiple Failures, Low Fuel, Zero Visibility: The Inside Story of Air India Flight 101". Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.

Bibliography

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