Alliance Airlines Boeing 737-2A8 plane crash

The Alliance Air Boeing 737-200 was operating Flight 7412 from Calcutta to Delhi, with planned stops at Patna and Lucknow. On approach to Patna, the crew found the aircraft too high relative to the normal approach profile. The pilots requested a 360-degree turn to lose altitude before rejoining final approach to runway 25.

During this low-altitude maneuver, the engines remained at low thrust and the airspeed decreased significantly. The aircraft reached a high pitch attitude, made rapid roll reversals and then activated the stick shaker, warning of an approaching stall. The crew initiated a go-around. The Boeing stalled, went out of control and crashed into a residential area close to the airport. Most of the occupants were killed, along with five people on the ground.

Investigation findings

The Indian Court of Inquiry concluded that the loss of control resulted from flight-crew error. The report found that the correct approach procedure had not been followed, leaving the aircraft too high, and that the airspeed had been allowed to fall below a normally acceptable value with the engines at idle thrust. When the stick shaker activated, the crew initiated a go-around instead of immediately carrying out the approach-to-stall recovery procedure. This led to an actual stall at a height from which control could no longer be recovered.