Incident Overview
Date: Sunday 29 March 1959
Aircraft Type: Douglas C-47A-90-DL (DC-3)
Owner/operator: Indian Airlines
Registration Number: VT-CGI
Location: 56 km W of Silchar –
ÿ India
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 24 / Occupants: 24
Component Affected: The aircraft’s structural components.The aircraft’s structural components.
Category: Accident
A DC-3 aircraft crashed after taking off from Agartala to Silchar due to structural failure caused by excessive loads during a severe thunderstorm. The failure originated in the port center area and was attributed to exceeding the aircraft’s design limits.A DC-3 aircraft crashed after taking off from Agartala to Silchar due to structural failure caused by excessive loads during a severe thunderstorm. The failure originated in the port center area and was attributed to exceeding the aircraft’s design limits.
Description
The DC-3 was operating on a flight from Calcutta (CCU) to Imphal (IMF) via Agartala (IXA) and Silchar (IXS). The aircraft took off from Agartala at 10:10 for a 50-minute flight to Silchar. En route weather was poor (thunderstorms in the area southwest of Silchar). The aircraft didn’t arrive at its destination and was found to have crashed. PROBABLE CAUSE: “Structural failure occurred while the aircraft was flying through a thunderstorm. The failure originated in the port centre section and was due to loads which exceeded the ultimate design value for the structure. It was not possible to establish whether the pilot adopted the correct procedure for flying in turbulence.”
Primary Cause
Structural failure due to excessive loads during a thunderstorm.Structural failure due to excessive loads during a thunderstorm.Share on:
