Kalinga Airlines
| Founded | 1946 |
|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Calcutta, India |
| Key people | Biju Patnaik (Founder & Chief Pilot) |
Kalinga Airlines was a private
Calcutta, India. It was founded in 1947 by aviator and politician Biju Patnaik, who was also the airline's chief pilot.[1] The airline was nationalised and merged into Indian Airlines
in 1953. It restarted operations as a non-scheduled charter operator in 1957 and flew passengers and cargo until 1972.
History
In 1947, Biju Patnaik, who used to be a
Deccan Airways, Airways India, Bharat Airways, Himalayan Aviation, Indian National Airways, Air India and Air Services of India were nationalised and merged into the Indian Airlines Corporation.[citation needed
]
Kalinga Airways restarted operations in December 1957 with the merger of five airlines, Assam Airways, Indamer Airways, Jamair, Kalinga and
Darbhanga Aviations with a fleet of 15 DC-3s.[3] Since May 1960, Kalinga specialised in supply drops in the Northeast. Non-scheduled operations from Bombay to Dubai were also operated but were suspended in October 1962 to focus on supply dropping.[4] The air-drop operations were taken over by the Indian Air Force in June 1967[5] and the airline reverted to passenger and cargo charters until February 1972.[6]
Incidents and accidents
- On 31 December 1951, a DC-3 carrying three crew members struck trees while climbing in limited visibility conditions.
- On 15 September 1952, a Kalinga Airlines Douglas Dakota cargo flight crashed in Wadi Halfa, Sudan, killing three crew members aboard.
- On 10 April 1952, Douglas C-47A-25-DK carrying four crew members lost control when carrying out an emergency landing following an engine failure.[7]
- On 30 August 1955, a Kalinga Airlines
- On 17 October 1965, a Douglas C-47A-75-DL carrying 8 people, including 5 passengers, crashed while dropping supplies in Mohanbari.
References
- ^ John F. Burns (21 April 1997). "Biju Patnaik, 81, Daring Pilot-Patriot of India". New York Times.
- ^ "Biju Patnaik".
- ^ "World Airline Directory, Flight, April 18, 1958".
- ^ "World Airline Directory, Flight, April 2, 1964".
- ^ "World Airline Survey, Flight, April 11, 1968".
- Flight. 2 April 1964.
- ^ Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Operator index > India > Kalinga Airlines. Aviation-safety.net (2012-03-04). Retrieved on 2014-05-21.
- ^ Did it come with a bang then? Nepal's early aviation history. [dead link]
