Japan Airlines Flight 471

Japan Airlines Flight 471

JA8012, the aircraft involved, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1970
Accident summary
Date	June 14, 1972
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain
Site	near Palam International Airport, New Delhi
Passengers	78
Crew	11
Fatalities	90, including 4 on the ground
Survivors	3
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-8-53
Operator	Japan Airlines
Registration	JA8012
Flight origin	Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok
Destination	Palam International Airport, New Delhi

Japan Airlines Flight 471 was a Japan Airlines flight from Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand to Palam International Airport (now Indira Gandhi International Airport) in New Delhi, India. On June 14, 1972 the Douglas DC-8-53 crashed outside of the New Delhi airport, killing 86 of 89 occupants: 11 crew members and 75 of 78 passengers. Four people on the ground were also killed.

The accident aircraft was a Douglas DC-8-53, registered JA8012 to Japan Airlines. The aircraft was written off after the accident. All crew members perished.

Sixteen of the dead were Americans. Brazilian actress Leila Diniz was also among those killed. The sole Indian passenger on this flight Dr.K.K.P. Narasinga Rao, a senior official of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, was among the dead. 75 of the 78 passengers perished.

The plane was on the Bangkok-New Delhi part of the Tokyo-London route when the accident occurred. The flight took off at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok at 11:21 UTC on route to Palam International Airport in New Delhi. At 14:43 UTC, the flight was given clearance for a straight-in ILS approach to runway 28. The plane crashed into the banks of Yamuna River not long after the 23 mile (43km) report from DME.

The exact cause of the accident remains disputed. The investigators representing Japan pointed to the possibility of a false glide path signal causing the crash. Indian investigators claimed the crash was caused by pilot error, specifically the pilot in charge ignoring instrument indications and not ensuring sight of the runway. The first officer was in charge of flying the approach to New Delhi.

I saw this JA flight a minute or so before it crashed. If I remember correctly, there was a sand storm that day. Nearly a minute after I saw this flight, I heard a loud crash and some time later I heard sirens from fire trucks and ambulences, and at that I was sure that this plane had crashed at or near Palam airport.