AI's older scheme - Airliners-India

the_380 · Member

AI's older scheme

himmat01 · Member

The Boeing 707s and the Connies had a different scheme. Check out the pictures on a.net.

karatecatman · Member

AI chief Thulasidas has hinted at looking at the past scheme in bringing back the glory of AI when its new fleet arrives. Their brand consultant Alia is helping them on this. But here won;t be a radical change. Much like making the modifying the Centaur logo to point up a little.

The Connies had a simple scheme with straighforward style of lettering.

The 707 had the Centaur on the tail with a bit ofthe present red arrow head in the tail. The red arrown sah came first and then the Centaur.

What do you call the present AI scheme anyway?

And how can one forget that rather ghastly font of "Your Palace in the Sky"?

-- Edited by karatecatman at 18:03, 2006-06-24

karatecatman · Member

Can you call the Air India Tail as a red arrow or slash?

Looks more like a red and deadly stiletto actually !!

But has tremendous class and presence on the 747 and the A310.

Now if only AI kept its 747 tails clean! Many have grease stains on them that ruin the red tail.

-- Edited by karatecatman at 18:03, 2006-06-24

karatecatman · Member

(Copyright Boeing/Air India/Planeboys)

karatecatman · Member

(Copyright SriLankan)

Another great airline and neighbour who made waves with the Conny!

karatecatman · Member

(Copyright Roger Bentley)

The Air India Constellation that went missing at Mt. Blanc, French Alps on its way to Geneva.

-- Edited by karatecatman at 19:22, 2006-06-24

the_380 · Member

Missing??? How???

karatecatman · Member

Disappeared from radar and believed to have hit the summit.

The main part of the wreckage was found about a year ago when a huge chunk of ice melted.

Incidentally, another Air India plane, a 707, on its way to Geneva -- Dr. Homi Bhabha, father of India's atomic energy programme was a passenger --- crashed at the same site and a few metres below where the Connie went down.

Major parts of this wreckage were also found recently by a French expedition.

-- Edited by karatecatman at 19:11, 2006-06-24

-- Edited by karatecatman at 19:12, 2006-06-24

-- Edited by karatecatman at 19:22, 2006-06-24

-- Edited by karatecatman at 19:23, 2006-06-24

karatecatman · Member

117 die in Air India tragedy

January 24, 1966

Up to 117 people have been killed after an Air India Boeing 707 crashed near the summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps.

The plane was on a regular Bombay to New York flight when the accident happened at around 0800 local time.

All 106 passengers and 11 crew were killed on the aircraft as it prepared to land at Geneva airport in Switzerland.

One of the victims included chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha, who was on his way to Vienna.

The remaining passengers were Indian nationals, 46 of whom were sailors. Six were British.

Gerard Devoussoux, a mountain guide who was one of the first to arrive at the disaster scene, said: "Another 15 metres (50ft) and the plane would have missed the rock. It made a huge crater in the mountain.

"Everything was completely pulverised. Nothing was identifiable except for a few letters and packets."

French authorities radioed back the news that there was virtually no hope of survivors shortly after landing in the area.

The search was eventually called off after bad weather and poor visibility hampered rescue efforts.

The plane was a few minutes behind schedule as it was preparing to make its descent.

But the captain of the Air India Boeing 707, who was one of the airline's most experienced pilots, had radioed the control tower a few minutes earlier to report that his instruments were working fine and the aircraft was flying at 19,000ft (5,791 metres) - at least 3,000ft (514 metres) higher than the Mont Blanc summit.

Shortly after, the plane crashed into the mountain.

Sixteen years ago an Air India Constellation flying from Cairo to Geneva crashed near the same spot, killing 48 passengers and crew .

(French archives)

-- Edited by karatecatman at 19:23, 2006-06-24

karatecatman · Member

What the French authorities said later:
It is believed the most probable cause of the crash was that the pilot miscalculated his position as he was flying over Mont Blanc.

The radar controller picked up on the pilot's error and radioed back to ensure that he had corrected his position.

Unfortunately the correction was misunderstood by the captain who continued his descent after mistakenly thinking that he had passed the ridge leading to the summit.

karatecatman · Member

The wreckage was at the Bosson Glacier, the largest ice fall in Europe.

Today, a chair-lift takes tourists to this sight.

One of the planes wheels took more than 20 years to travel to the bottom of the glacier, which is on view to the public at the Museum nearby.

-- Edited by karatecatman at 19:37, 2006-06-24

karatecatman · Member

British intelligence suddenly started a short-lived story about the plane having a box of uranium cargo and which was why Dr. Bhabha was on board.

Dr. Bhabha was on his way to attend a conference in Vienna.

HAWK21M · Member

What Happened to the Uranium Box.

regds

MEL

karatecatman · Member

It was a story made up by the British after speculation about Homi BHABHA being on board.

Was a shortlived British intelligence tale.