Close to 44 years ago, on New Year’s Day 1978, Bandra was the setting for one of the worst tragedies until that time. The sad event has, unfortunately, and rather surprisingly, been erased from the memories of most ‘Bandraites’. Of course, the younger generation has never even heard about it. Yet, this happened a mere 3 km (1.9 miles) off the coast of Bandra, close to what is now the Bandstand Promenade.
Preamble
On January 1st, 1978, Air India flight AI855 was scheduled to fly between Bombay and Dubai, at around 8:00 pm. The flight was due to be operated by a Boeing 747 aircraft named “Emperor Ashoka”, registered VT-EBD, the flagship of Air India’s fleet of all jet aircraft. The flight was operated by experienced Air India pilot Capt. Madan Lal Kukar, and Capt. Indu Virmani, an Indian Air Force veteran. The aircraft also had a flight engineer on board, as variants of the 747 of that time did, Mr. Alfredo Faria. Besides the cockpit crew of 3, the aircraft also carried 20 cabin crew on board. The passenger count on flight AI855 that evening was 190, making it a total of 213 souls on board the “Emperor Ashoka”.
The “Emperor Ashoka”, VT-EBD
Air India’s first Boeing 747 “Jumbo Jet” was built at the Boeing factory in Seattle, Washington in 1971. She was delivered to Air India in May of that year, received at Santa Cruz by none other than the late great J.R.D. Tata, then Chairman of Air India. As was common with 747s of that era, her upper deck featured no passenger seats, but rather a luxurious lounge for first-class passengers, fashioned in typical ‘70s style, with a bar, et all. Indian art murals covered her interior walls of the upper deck lounge, and lower passenger deck. She was a symbol of India’s modernity, the first “Jumbo Jet” to come home. Air India had decided to name their Boeing 747s after Indian emperors, and the first bore the name of perhaps the greatest of them all, Ashoka, the source for our national symbols, the “chakra” and the “three-lion stupa”.
The Tragedy
At around 8:12 pm the aircraft took off from Santa Cruz airport. About 101 seconds later, she had made a steep left bank and impacted the waters off the coast of Bandra. Seconds into the flight, a key instrument on the flight deck, the Attitude Director Indicator (ADI) malfunctioned. Though the aircraft was level in flight after take-off, it indicated to the pilots that it was turning right. In order to correct the angle, Capt. Kukar and Capt. Virmani initiated a left bank, thinking that they were straightening out the wings. In the complete and utter darkness of the Arabian Sea ahead of them, the pilots were unable to see the horizon. This spatial disorientation actually caused them to believe that they were straightening out, when they were really flying left, into the sea. The aircraft struck the sea with its wings 18 degrees past the vertical, and the nose down at a 35-degree angle. The result was total destruction.
Controversy
The official cause of the crash was said to be “instrument failure and spatial disorientation”. Yet, there was minor controversy. Guests at the Sea Rock hotel said that they had heard a loud explosion that “shook the tables in the card room”. A local coastal resident, a certain Namdev Revatandkar, claimed to have seen the aircraft come down into the sea, and a naval officer on board a naval ship, claimed to have seen an explosion. This controversy fueled rumours that the aircraft actually exploded before it hit the water. Also, at that time, the then United States President Jimmy Carter was in India (paying a state visit to Delhi), and this further fueled conspiracy theories.
Aftermath
There were no survivors. All 213 souls on board were lost with the aircraft. Bodies and debris of the aircraft were recovered over the next few days. Parts of the aircraft had been washed ashore as far as Alibag. All of Bandra was in the spotlight, being the scene of what was then India’s worst (and 3rd worst in the world) air accident, at that time.
A Personal Connection
The “Emperor Ashoka” was less than 7 years old when she was lost. As an Air India pilot, my later father was one of the aviators that flew her in that brief period. As a child, I myself had the opportunity to fly aboard her several times, with my sister and mother, and experience the luxury of her first class, and upper deck lounge. I am told that on that fateful night, my mother literally rushed to Bandstand from Santa Cruz, frantic to know the fate of the aircraft & crew. Apparently not much could be seen in the dark. My father himself, was on another flight, operating yet another Air India Boeing 747 in some other part of the world. He lost some good friends and co-workers that fateful night.
The need to remember
In my efforts to mark the upcoming 44th anniversary of this tragedy, I am attempting to have a memorial erected (or perhaps at least have a plaque installed) on Bandstand, honouring the victims of the crash. Late last year, I started off on a crusade to contact politicians and corporations, and so-called social activists, in order to enlist their help for the same. Sadly, I was met by zero response. Perhaps this cause was not important enough to them.
Then, I received a call from Asif Zakaria, the only person who cared to respond. Asif was very interested in my project, and promised to help after the elections, should he return to power. To my good fortune, he did. He has extended his full support to build a memorial for this, as he well put it, “noble cause”. I hope that with Asif Zakaria’s help, present and future generations will learn about and remember this tragedy in Bandra. We intend to dedicate it on the 44th anniversary, January 1st 2018.
As time passes by, we tend to forget events. However, we ought to not have some of these erased from the pages of history, especially as it is a part of our local history. So next time you walk down the Bandstand promenade or drive on BJ Road, do take a moment to look out at the sea, and this time, say a prayer for the 213 souls and the “Emperor Ashoka” that were lost, right there, 44 years ago.
