What happened
On the evening of the accident, an Ilyushin II-76TD operated by Kazair, performing flight KZA1907 from Shymkent Airport to New Delhi-Indira Gandhi Airport, was cleared to begin its descent. The flight was carrying 27 passengers and 10 crew members. During the descent, the crew was instructed to maintain an altitude of FL150 while following route G452.
Simultaneously, a Boeing 747-168B operated by Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), flight SV763, departed New Delhi-Indira Gandhi Airport for Jeddah via Dhahran. This aircraft was carrying 289 passengers and 23 crew members. Following its departure, the crew received instructions to climb to FL140 via the same G452 route.
At 1840LT, approximately seven minutes after the takeoff of the Saudia flight, the two aircraft collided at FL140. The impact occurred because the Kazair crew descended below their assigned altitude of FL150. Following the collision, both aircraft fell in an uncontrolled descent into an open field near Charkhi Dadri, located roughly 80 km west of New Delhi-Indira Gandhi Airport. The impact and subsequent fire resulted in 349 fatalities, leaving no survivors from either aircraft.