Investigation Summary
The flight was operating the Beirut to Geneva leg of a multi-stop journey from Bombay to London. As the aircraft approached the Alps, the crew was communicating with Geneva radar. Due to a misunderstanding of their position relative to the Mont Blanc summit, the pilot believed he had already cleared the massif. The controller noted the aircraft was at the level of Mont Blanc and provided a correction, but the pilot interpreted the communication as confirmation that he had passed the peak. Consequently, the crew began a descent from Flight Level 190. The aircraft struck the Rocher de la Tournette at an elevation of approximately 15,584 feet, just below the summit of Mont Blanc. The wreckage was scattered across the Glacier des Bossons, where debris continues to be recovered decades later due to glacial movement.
Final Conclusions
The investigation concluded the accident was a Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) caused by a pilot error in navigation. The pilot initiated a descent before actually passing the Mont Blanc massif, likely due to a misinterpretation of the radar controller's position report. A contributing factor was the failure of the crew to accurately determine their own position using onboard navigational aids before beginning the descent in IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions).
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Joe T. D'Souza, an 18-year veteran pilot.
First Officer
G.C. Kasne
Systems & Failure Modes
VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR)
Navigational equipment used by the crew to determine their position relative to ground-based beacons.
Radar Vectoring
Communication between the Geneva controller and the pilot regarding the aircraft's position relative to Mont Blanc.
Interesting Facts
- 01The crash occurred only 200 meters from the 1950 crash site of Air India Flight 245.
- 02Homi Jehangir Bhabha, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India, was among the fatalities.
- 03The aircraft was named Kanchenjunga, after the third highest mountain in the world.
- 04In 2012, a bag of diplomatic mail from the flight was recovered from the glacier.
- 05In 2013, a French climber discovered a box of jewels (rubies, sapphires, and emeralds) belonging to a passenger on the flight.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Standardization of Position Reporting
The accident highlighted the need for clearer communication protocols between pilots and controllers when using geographic landmarks as reporting points, especially in mountainous terrain.
Known Controversies & Unanswered Questions
Sabotage Theories
Reference ↗Due to the presence of Homi Bhabha on board, some conspiracy theories suggested the aircraft was sabotaged by foreign intelligence agencies to cripple India's nuclear program, though no official evidence supports this.