Accident Narrative
At 0348 local time, an aircraft departed from Nagpur Airport's Runway 09, en route to New Delhi. Two minutes after takeoff, while climbing at a low altitude, the pilot-in-command initiated a steep turn to the left. The aircraft stalled and subsequently crashed in an open field located 5,650 feet from the end of the runway. The impact and resulting fire destroyed the aircraft and all ten occupants were killed.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the aircraft crashed as a result of slipping into the ground during a badly executed steep turn to the left performed at night at a low altitude. According to the findings, the choice of a left turn rather than the more common right turn for departures to Delhi from Runway 27 was not unusual for this pilot; the critical error was the poor execution of the turn. The report noted that the reason for the steep turn could not be easily determined. Several possibilities were considered: the pilot may have attempted to get on course quickly, relied on visual references instead of flying solely by instruments, or may have been misled by the instruments.