Flight 440 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from
Madras (now Chennai),
Tamil Nadu to New Delhi. A Boeing 737 named
Saranga was used for the flight. As Flight 440 approached
Palam International Airport in driving dust and a rainstorm, the aircraft struck high tension wires during a
NDB approach with visibility below minimal. The aircraft crashed and caught fire. 48 of the 65 passengers and crew on board Flight 440 perished in the accident. Rescue officials said the survivors were in the front of the aircraft, although one survivor reported sitting in the back row. The survivors included three Americans and two Japanese. The dead included four Americans, three Britons, and one woman from Yemen. Notable survivors included
Bhan Singh Bhaura Member Parliament and
V. K. Madhavan Kutty, an eminent journalist and writer. Among the dead was Indian Minister of Iron and Steel Mines,
Mohan Kumaramangalam,
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha and
Communist Party of India politician
K. Baladhandayutham and former
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and
Indian National Congress politician
Devaki Gopidas and Indian businessmen Mallikarjun Reddy Kakani and Raghunatha Reddy Kakani. ==Cause==