| Summary: | Uncommanded pitch-up and stall due to horizontal stabiliser failure caused by improper maintenance |
| Site: | Near Kochi, Kerala, India |
| Passengers: | 3 |
| Crew: | 3 |
| Fatalities: | 6 |
| Survivors: | 0 |
| Aircraft Type: | HAL Dornier 228 |
| Operator: | Indian Airlines |
| Iata: | IC503 |
| Icao: | IAC503 |
| Callsign: | INDAIR 503 |
| Tail Number: | VT-EJW |
| Origin: | Agatti Airport, Agatti, Lakshadweep |
| Stopover: | Willingdon Island Airport, Kochi, Kerala |
| Destination: | Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
| Ground Fatalities: | 3 |
| Ground Injuries: | 6 |
Indian Airlines Flight 503 was a scheduled flight operated by Indian Airlines between Agatti and Thiruvananthapuram, with a stopover in Kochi. On 30 July 1998, the Dornier 228 aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Kochi killing all six people onboard and three people on the ground.[1]
The aircraft involved was a 13-year-old Dornier 228, manufactured in 1986 by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on licence from Dornier, registered as VT-EJW. The aircraft had previously operated for Vayudoot, however was transferred to Indian Airlines in 1993 to operate the Agatti-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram route. It had an airworthiness certificate valid until 1999.[2] [3] [4]
The flight originated in Agatti, Lakshadweep and was headed for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala after a stopover at Kochi as Indian Airlines flight 503.[3] Kochi had a naval airport where the Airports Authority of India operated a civil enclave.[5]
The flight was commanded by Captain Shiv Raj Singh with Captain Manish Sharma as co-pilot. The captain had 5,000 hours of flight time on the Dornier while the co-pilot had over 2,000 hours. The only other crew member on board the aircraft was the flight purser, Sajid. There were only three passengers on board the sixteen-seater aircraft, none of whom survived. Three people on the ground were also killed, while six others suffered injuries.[2] The passengers, crew and victims on the ground were all admitted to INHS Sanjivani for treatment.[3]
The aircraft took off from runway 17 of the airport at 11:04am local time. After reaching about 400 feet (122 metres) in its initial climb, it pitched up steeply and entered a stall before banking right, entering an uncontrolled descent and crashing into a workshop building near the naval hangar.[6] [7] The aircraft burst into flames on impact and was destroyed.[8] Crash tenders responded swiftly and four of the victims, alive but critically injured, were moved to a hospital within 15 minutes of the crash.[2]
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered an investigation into the accident and a three-member Committee of Inquiry headed by Air Marshal P. Raj Kumar was constituted under the Aircraft Rules, 1937.[9] The Committee in its report made 49 findings and 7 recommendations and stated that "poor aircraft maintenance practices at Short Haul Operations Department had contributed to the accident".[10] It found that the aircraft had pitched up uncontrollably after takeoff and that this was the result of a "sudden uncommanded downward movement of the Trimmable Horizontal Stabilizer leading edge. This was due to partial detachment of its actuator forward bearing support fitting due to non-installation of required hi-lok fasteners."[11] [12] Consequently, the aircraft "stalled, fell to its right and crashed."[12]
Indian Airlines paid 76.87 lakh (roughly US$195,000) as compensation to the victims and received 5 crore (US$1.27 million) from its insurers towards loss of the aircraft.[13]