'The world’s deadliest mid-air collision ever' near Delhi | Due to Lack of English-language Skills!

World’s Deadliest Aviation Accident near Delhi

Reason: Lack of English language Skills Amongst the Airline Crew

#memoriesfromdiaries

13th November 1996

Wreckage of the Airliners - Post mid-air collision

Today (13th November 1996) was at home, and hence in the evening, with my bestie Tilak went to see Mr. Romeo, starring Prabhu Deva and Shilpa Shetty. The movie was released two days ago, on 10th November 1996.

On the sad front, read in today’s newspaper (13th November 1996) about the deadliest mid-air collision in aviation history that had occurred near Delhi.

The Airliners - Before the Collision and During the Collision

On Tuesday, 12th November 1996, a Boeing 747 Saudia Airliner that was headed for Saudi Arabia, (en route from Delhi), and a Kazakhstan Airliner that was coming from Kazakhstan, to Delhi, collided at a village around 100 km west of Delhi.

The collision resulted in the deaths of all 349 people on board both planes, making it the world’s deadliest mid-air collision ever, and the deadliest aviation accident to have ever occurred in India.

Shockingly enough, the commission that investigated the deadliest mid-air collision in aviation history, finally determined that the Kazakhstani airline crew were to be blamed for the disaster, owing to their lack of English language skills.

As per their reports, the pilots of the Kazak airliner lacked English language skills, and they were completely relying on their Radio Operator alone, for communicating with Air Traffic Control.

Hence the First Officer of the airliner might have completely misunderstood Air Traffic Controller Dutta’s final radio call, says the report.

On an aside -

Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia, and the official languages of Kazakhstan are Kazakh and Russian. English is not spoken there.

It is said that, only in the past two decades, the younger generation has woken up to the importance of the English language, and have started learning English.

Image courtesy: web.bookstruck.in/book/chapter/47956