Did you know that more than five decades ago, a Japanese plane landed at the wrong airport in Mumbai? A Japan Air Lines plane was scheduled to land at the then-Santacruz Airport of Bombay. However, due to some confusion, the pilot landed the plane at the Juhu Aerodrome. Since the latter was a much smaller airport, it had a smaller runway and the Japan Air Lines’ Douglas DC-8 overran it and had a rough landing. While there were no casualties, the plane was written off after being damaged beyond economic repair. Interestingly, parts of this plane were later used in a Bollywood movie! Intrigued? Scroll on to know more!
Japanese Plane That Landed On The Wrong Airport In 1972
On September 24, 1972, Japan Air Lines Flight 472 was flying from London to Tokyo. The flight had the following stoppages – Frankfurt, Rome, Beirut, Tehran, Bombay, Bangkok, and Hong Kong. While landing in Mumbai, then Bombay, the pilot made a mistake and landed the Douglas DC-8 at the wrong airport!
The pilot landed the plane at the Juhu Aerodrome instead of Santacruz Airport (now Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport). The Santacruz Airport was Mumbai’s largest airport and had the capacity to accommodate the massive Douglas DC-8 by Japan Air Lines. The Juhu Aerodrome, on the other hand, catered to smaller aircraft and had a shorter runway. The pilot, however, got confused as the two airports were built in close proximity.
1972 :: Rough Landing of Japan Airlines Aeroplane In Bombay pic.twitter.com/9whWmrYFq2
— indianhistorypics (@IndiaHistorypic) May 17, 2019
He tried landing the plane on Juhu Aerodrome’s much smaller runway. The massive Douglas DC-8 overran the small runway and had a rough landing. The plane was carrying 14 crew members and 108 passengers on board. After the rough landing, 2 cockpit crew members and 9 passengers were reported severely injured. Thankfully, there were no casualties in this whole incident. The plane, however, was written off after being declared damaged beyond economic repair.
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It’s Bollywood Connection You Probably Didn’t Know About
Seeing that Japan Air Lines couldn’t use the aeroplane again, it was dismantled and sold as scrap. While not much is known about the plane after it was torn down, it has been reported that some part of it made it into a Bollywood movie! According to reports, ace director and producer B.R. Chopra brought the seats of this plane and used them on the sets for his movie ‘The Burning Train’.
Now, this is the kind of Bollywood trivia we live for! Did you know the rough landing of the Japan Air Lines plane in Mumbai in 1972? Let us know in the comments!
Cover Image Courtesy: X/@IndiaHistorypic
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