“We Write. We Rise” – Voices from Within by Our Writers
That Unfortunate Flight( Based on true Story)
It was a rainy morning in August 1991. A Boeing 737 aircraft was flying on the route between Kolkata and Silawadi. The flight was carrying 126 passengers and 6 crew members. It was supposed to land at Silawadi Airport, which is located in one of the eastern sectors of India. This airport was surrounded by mountains, and for most of the year, low clouds covered the approaches to the runway. That particular rainy day was no exception.
When the flight neared the airport, the highly competent and experienced commander in charge of the airplane requested clearance from the Tower to descend for landing. After receiving descent clearance, the captain descended to the instructed altitude and requested clearance to land. But this time, for some unknown reason, the Tower denied clearance and instructed him to circle back and request landing clearance again.
The commander did exactly as instructed and reached the point where he could again request landing clearance. As we all know, Lady Luck doesn't cooperate with us every time. That morning, she did not cooperate with the captain; before receiving the clearance, the aircraft crashed heavily into one of the mountains. It instantly caught fire and broke into pieces, which scattered across the jungles of the mountain range.
Immediately after the crash, the aircraft vanished from the Tower's radar screen, causing widespread panic. After a few minutes, personnel were informed by others at the Silawadi tower that the aircraft had crashed in the jungle and no survivors could be traced.
We have an organization in our country named the AGCA. They handle all sorts of dealings in this type of crisis situation. Bodies were identified, an inquiry was held, and compensation was duly given to the families of all passengers and crew members.
However, compensation could not bring back those 132 human beings. Naturally, the question on everyone's mind was: what was the outcome of this inquiry?
According to the AGCA's inquiry report, the public was told that the crash was due to "pilot error." In most air crashes in our country, inquiries conclude that the crash occurred because of pilot error. It is very easy to place the blame on a dead man who can never come back and speak the truth. This particular inquiry was compromised, as usual, by blaming the pilot, while the real truth was kept hidden behind a screen.
I am sure people would definitely like to know the exact reason behind the deadly tragedy of the Silawadi Boeing 737 crash.
The AGCA has a rule that a landing aircraft always gets priority over a departing aircraft. However, another aircraft on the ground was carrying a VVIP who had to reach Delhi urgently for personal work. The priority for the landing aircraft was thrown out the window, and the VIP's aircraft, which was in takeoff mode, was prioritized—God knows by whom, and God knows for what reason.
In our country, VIPs and VVIPs are treated like sons-in-law, and nobody has the guts to make them wait or overrule their demands. As a result, 132 human beings had to sacrifice their valuable lives for no reason.
This was the actual reason for that particular air crash, a tragedy that leaves me in shock to this day. I had friends and colleagues on that flight, so I know what their families went through at that time. This sort of loss can never be compensated with money or anything else whatsoever.
I will end this unfortunate story with a few lines of poetry:
"Time marches on,
Memories stay,
Torturing silently
For the rest of our days."
Saswati Roy
July, 2026