1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision

Imagine two HUGE airplanes, like giant metal birds, flying in the sky. On November 12, 1996, two of these amazing flying machines were flying near a town called Charkhi Dadri in India. One plane was going from India to Saudi Arabia, and the other was coming from Kazakhstan to India.

Sadly, they flew too close and bumped into each other high up in the clouds. It was a very, very sad day for everyone.

One of the planes was a big Boeing 747, like a super-long bus with wings, flying for Saudia. It started its journey in Delhi, India, and was going all the way to Jeddah. The other plane was an Ilyushin Il-76, also a very big plane, from Kazakhstan Airlines.

This plane was flying from a place called Chimkent in Kazakhstan, also heading to Delhi. They were both on important journeys, but they were flying in the same sky at the same time.

This sad event was the biggest time two airplanes ever crashed into each other in the air. All 349 people on both planes were lost. It was also the worst plane crash ever in India.

Because it was so serious, people wanted to understand exactly how it happened so they could try to make sure it never, ever happens again. It taught everyone how important it is for pilots and air traffic controllers to talk clearly and fly safely.

After the crash, smart people looked very carefully at what happened. They found out that one of the planes didn't fly at the right height. Sometimes, the pilots didn't understand each other perfectly because they spoke different languages.

Also, the airport didn't have a special radar that could tell the height of planes, only how far away they were. This helped everyone learn how to make flying even safer with better tools and clearer communication.