Accident Details
The Hermes aircraft was operating a non-scheduled passenger flight from Blackbushe Airport, England, to Singapore, with planned stops at Karachi, Delhi, and Calcutta. During the final segment of its journey, it was executing a radar-assisted approach to runway 01R at Dum Dum Airport, Calcutta. At the time of the incident, which occurred at 0000 GMT, it collided with a Dakota aircraft that was lined up on runway 01L.
Damage and Injuries
The collision resulted in the destruction of the Dakota. The four crew members aboard the Dakota, who were the sole occupants, sustained fatal injuries. The Hermes aircraft sustained substantial damage and was subsequently not repaired. Two passengers on the Hermes were injured.
Probable Cause
According to the official investigation, the probable cause was an error by the Commander of the Hermes aircraft. He turned down the radio telephony (R/T) during the final stage of the radar-assisted approach and decided to continue the approach under conditions that did not enable him to positively identify the correct runway. This error caused him to land on runway 01L instead of the assigned runway 01R as granted by air traffic control.