Air India Flight 403

Air India Flight 403

File:Boeing 707-437, Air-India AN2227437.jpg The aircraft involved in the accident, seen in Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in 1976.
Accident summary
Date	21 June 1982
Summary	Pilot error
Site	Sahar International Airport, Mumbai, India
Passengers	99
Crew	12
Fatalities	17
Survivors	94
Aircraft type	Boeing 707–437
Aircraft name	Gouri Shankar
Operator	Air India
Registration	VT-DJJ
Flight origin	Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kuala Lumpur
Stopover	Madras International Airport, Madras (now Chennai)
Destination	Sahar International Airport, Bombay (now Mumbai)

Air India Flight 403 was a scheduled Air India passenger flight that crashed at Sahar International Airport in Bombay, India on 21 June 1982. It was probably caused by miscalculated altitude in a heavy rainstorm.

Accident

On 21 June 1982 Air India Flight 403, a Boeing 707–437 (registered VT-DJJ) called Gauri Nandan coming from Kuala Lumpur International Airport via Madras (now Chennai) crashed after a heavy landing during a rainstorm. The fuselage exploded after starting a late go-around. 111 occupants were on the aircraft. 2 of 12 crew members and 15 of 99 passengers were killed in the crash.

Investigation

The Indian board of inquiry determined the probable cause of the crash to be "Deliberate reduction of engine power by the pilot 12 seconds prior to first impact due to altitude unawareness resulting in a high rate of descent, very heavy landing and the undershooting of the aircraft by 1300 feet."

Flight number

While it is a custom to retire flight numbers after a fatal crash, Air India continues to use the AI403 flight designation on the New Delhi (DEL) to Bengaluru (BLR) route which is normally operated by an Airbus A320-200. AI403 was also used as a training flight starting in September 2012 for their new Boeing 787-8.