1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 12 November 1996 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision due to pilot error |
| Site | Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, India 28°33′38″N 76°18′15″E / 28.56056°N 76.30417°E |
| Total fatalities | 349 |
| Total survivors | 0 |
| First aircraft | |
| HZ-AIH, the Boeing 747-168B involved in the collision, seen in 1986 | |
| Type | Boeing 747-168B |
| Operator | Saudia |
| IATA flight No. | SV763 |
| ICAO flight No. | SVA763 |
| Call sign | SAUDIA 763 |
| Registration | HZ-AIH |
| Flight origin | Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, India |
| Destination | Dhahran International Airport, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia |
| Occupants | 312 |
| Passengers | 289 |
| Crew | 23 |
| Fatalities | 312 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Second aircraft | |
| UN-76435, the Ilyushin Il-76TD involved in the collision, seen in 1994 | |
| Type | Ilyushin Il-76TD |
| Operator | Kazakhstan Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | KZ1907 |
| ICAO flight No. | KZA1907 |
| Call sign | KAZAKH 1907 |
| Registration | UN-76435 |
| Flight origin | Chimkent Airport, Kazakhstan |
| Destination | Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, India |
| Occupants | 37 |
| Passengers | 27 |
| Crew | 10 |
| Fatalities | 37 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 12 November 1996, Saudia Flight 763, a Boeing 747 en route from Delhi, India, to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, an Ilyushin Il-76 en route from Chimkent, Kazakhstan, to Delhi, collided over the city of Charkhi Dadri, around 100 km (62 mi; 54 nmi) west of Delhi. The crash killed all 349 people on board both planes, making it the world's deadliest mid-air collision and the deadliest aviation accident ever in India. The final report from the investigation revealed that the Kazakh crew's failure to maintain the correct altitude led to the collision. Contributing factors included the poor English language skills in the Kazakh cockpit, resulting in inadequate interpretation of directions provided by air traffic control, and three specific incidents of failures in crew resource management (CRM) by the Kazakh crew. The report also suggested technical enhancements (including ACAS and SSR) that would provide assistance in preventing a future crew's mistakes from being allowed to go unchecked in real time.