Air India Flight 101
Encyclopedia
Air India Flight 101 was a scheduled Air India
passenger flight that crashed into Mont Blanc
in France
on the morning of 24 January 1966.
to New York
and was operated by Boeing 707
registered
VT-DMN and name Kanchenjunga. After leaving Bombay it had made two scheduled stops at Delhi
and Beirut
and was en-route to another stop at Geneva
. The flight at Flight Level 190 was instructed to descend for Geneva after it had passed Mont Blanc
. The pilot thinking that he had passed Mont Blanc started to descend and crashed into the Glacier des Bossons
(Bossons Glacier) on the south west face of Mont Blanc
in France
at an elevation of 4750 metres (15,584 ft). All 106 passengers and 11 crew were killed.
Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha.
VT-DMN had first flown on 5 April 1961 and was delivered new to Air India on 25 May 1961. It had flown a total of 16188 hours.
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India owned Air India Limited . The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman...
passenger flight that crashed into Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on the morning of 24 January 1966.
Accident
Air India Flight 101 was a scheduled flight from MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and was operated by Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
registered
Aircraft registration
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
VT-DMN and name Kanchenjunga. After leaving Bombay it had made two scheduled stops at Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and was en-route to another stop at Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. The flight at Flight Level 190 was instructed to descend for Geneva after it had passed Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
. The pilot thinking that he had passed Mont Blanc started to descend and crashed into the Glacier des Bossons
Glacier des Bossons
The Bossons Glacier is one of the glaciers found in the Chamonix valley of Haute-Savoie département, south-eastern France. It is on the north-eastern side of the valley, close to the Aiguille du Midi.-See also:*List of glaciers...
(Bossons Glacier) on the south west face of Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at an elevation of 4750 metres (15,584 ft). All 106 passengers and 11 crew were killed.
Passengers
Among the 106 passengers was the chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy CommissionAtomic Energy Commission of India
The Atomic Energy Commission is a governing body functioning under the Department of Atomic Energy , Government of India. The DAE is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister.- History :...
Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha.
Aircraft
The Boeing 707-437Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
VT-DMN had first flown on 5 April 1961 and was delivered new to Air India on 25 May 1961. It had flown a total of 16188 hours.