Ill-fated runway 23 of Ahmedabad airport back in news after 1988 crash

New Delhi/Ahmedabad, June 12
The crash of Air India plane near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday was the second such major tragedy in the city since 1988, with both incidents linked to runway 23.

As many as 133 people out of 139 on board were killed on October 19, 1988, when Indian Airlines Flight 113 from Mumbai to Ahmedabad crashed while approaching the airport’s runway 23. Before crashing, the flight to London on Thursday had also taken off from runway 23.

Findings of a probe into the 1988 incident attributed it to pilots’ error linked to descending below the minimum altitude of 500 feet or 150 metre.

There were reports that the two pilots had problems sighting the runway and lost track of their altitude in their efforts to approach the airport that lacked approach lights or visual approach slope indicator (VASI).

While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials are still to arrive at a conclusion on the cause of Thursday’s crash, court of inquiry into the 1988 crash had concluded that the aircraft hit trees and high-tension electricity tower close to Chiloda Kotarpur Village.

The plane crashed near Noble Nagar Housing Society, about 2.5 km from the approach end of runway due to the pilots attempting to land without any clearance from the Air Traffic Control, it said.

The plane crash in 1988 resulted in the death of Professor Labdhi Bhandari from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

All six crew members, including two pilots, and 129 passengers, including 5 children, perished in the Ahmedabad crash in 1988.

An inquiry panel had confirmed pilots' poor judgement due to non-adherence to laid down procedure, under poor visibility conditions.

In a suit filed by victims’ kin, an Ahmedabad court had said that the degree of negligence on the part of the pilot-in-command and the co-pilot of the Indian Airlines was so high that the same amounted to “recklessness” on their part as contemplated by the Carriage by Air Act, 1972.