A 1988 jet crash, 133 deaths and an unending struggle

“After the wedding, they were coming home for the first time. The college was famous for garba competition and my brother and bhabhi were skilled at garba, hoping to wina prize,” said Patel, now aretired bank employee.

- Maulik Pathak

That was not to be.

The Indian Airlines Boeing 737 Flight IC-113 that was carrying the Patel family among 129 passengers crashed on its final approach to Ahmedabad at approximately 6.53am on October 19, 1988.

The aircraft carried 129 passengers, including five children, and six crew members when it took off from Mumbai at 6.05am. After reporting overhead in Ahmedabad at 6.47am, the aircraft crashed near ChilodaKotarpur, about 2,540 metres short of Runway No 23. Ithit trees and an electric wire during the landing approach, killing 133 of the 135 people on board.

Patel rushed to the post-mortem room at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital in Asarwa that morning. “Bodies were lying all around, many burnt beyond recognition. recognised my brother from his wedding ring and my sister-in-law from her mangalsutra. The world came crashing down on us,” he said.

A string of errors

‘A government-appointed Court of Inquiry, constituted under Rule 75 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and chaired by former Supreme Court judge, justice AK Mathur, submitted its report on October 10, 1989.

The inquiry found that the aircraft was travelling at 158 knots instead of the stipulated 128 knots and descended below the minimum descent altitude without establishing visual contact with the runway or approach lights. The pilots failed to follow the prescribed missed approach procedure and continued landing despite visibility conditions lower than the prescribed minimum.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which managed the airport, failed to communicate deteriorating visibility conditions to the pilots, as visibility had reduced to 700 metres. The Ahmedabad airport lacked a functioning Instrument Landing System at the time, and its approach lights were inoperative. Inadequate firefighting services exacerbated the tragedy, as 6,000 litres of fuel ignited after impact.