What happened
During a night departure from Bombay-Santa Cruz Airport, a Lockheed L-188 Electra experienced a catastrophic failure during its initial climb. Approximately five minutes after leaving the runway, the aircraft transitioned into a nose-down pitch and descended rapidly toward the ground. The plane struck the earth roughly 32 km north of the airport, resulting in a massive explosion.
The impact caused the airframe to disintegrate completely. There were 29 fatalities among the occupants of the aircraft. Additionally, one person on the ground was killed during the accident. While some nearby residences sustained damage, there were only a small number of other injuries reported in the vicinity of the crash site.
Findings
Investigations into the accident concluded that the flight crew lost control of the aircraft because all four engines suffered either partial or total failure while the plane was climbing. The root cause of this engine failure was identified as improper refueling procedures performed during the stop at Bombay Airport. Ground personnel had mistakenly loaded regular benzin into the fuel tanks instead of the required kerosene.