What happened
During a scheduled domestic flight from Srinagar to Delhi, which included stops in Jammu and Chandigarh, an Indian Airlines Boeing 737-200 arrived at Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport. Upon touchdown on runway 10, the aircraft's landing gear failed to deploy, resulting in a gear-up landing.
Following the impact with the runway, a fuel leak developed due to damaged fuel lines and a malfunctioning fuel control unit. This leakage caused the left engine to ignite. Emergency fire services responded immediately and successfully extinguished the flames. Despite the mechanical failure and subsequent fire, all 134 occupants managed to evacuate the aircraft without any fatalities or injuries.
Findings
Investigations into the incident identified that the primary reason for the accident was the pilot in command's failure to follow established flight procedures, specifically regarding the verification of the landing gear status. The investigation also noted that the co-pilot failed to monitor deviations from standard protocols or perform the necessary cross-checks to ensure the gear was down and locked prior to landing.