1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision
On 12 November 1996, Saudia Flight 763, a Boeing 747 en route from Delhi, India, to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, an Ilyushin Il-76 en route from Chimkent, Kazakhstan, to Delhi, collided over the village of Charkhi Dadri, around west of Delhi. The crash killed all 349 people on board both planes, making it the world's deadliest mid-air collision and the deadliest aviation accident to occur in India. The crash was caused by failure of the Kazakh crew to maintain the correct altitude, because of confused dialogue with the tower communicated via the radio operator. Aircraft involved Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763 Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763 was a Boeing 747-168B, registration HZ-AIH, departing from Delhi as part of a scheduled international Delhi–Dhahran–Jeddah passenger service with 312 people on board. The crew on this flight consisted of Captain Khalid Al-Shubaily (age 45), First Officer Nazir Khan, and Flight Engineer Ahmed Edrees. Al-Shubaily was a veteran pilot with 9,837 flying hours. There is some dispute as to the nationalities of the passengers of Flight 763. According to an article published on 14 November 1996, 215 Indians, many of whom worked in Saudi Arabia as blue-collar workers, boarded the