Darbhanga Aviations was a private Indian

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 airline

Airline

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

 started by Maharaja Kameshwar Singh

Raj Darbhanga

Darbhanga Raj, also known as Raj Darbhanga and the Royal Family of Darbhanga, were a family of Zamindars and rulers of territories that are now part of Mithila and Darbhanga district, Bihar, India. Their seat was at the city of Darbhanga...

 of Darbhanga. Darbhanga Aviations was started in 1950 and became defunct by 1962.

History

After World War - II, many military planes had become surplus and were sold at cheap price. Darbhanga Aviation was started with four Douglas DC-3

Douglas DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

 aircraft (2 No.s of C-47A-DL and 1 No. of C-47A-DK), purchased from the U.S. Air Force.

Incidents and Accidents

One of these planes (Registration - VT-DEM) got destroyed in an accident near Calcutta on 01-03-1954. This plane was on Scheduled Domestic Service out of Calcutta, India, when it crashed on takeoff from Calcutta. The No.1 engine of the DC-3 caught fire immediately after takeoff from Calcutta runway 19R. The aircraft failed to gain height, stalled and crashed into trees, 3330 feet past the runway end. 2 of the 8 passengers, and all 3 crew members aboard the DC3 were killed in the crash. The 6 surviving passengers were all critically injured. Although the engine fire was the primary cause of the crash, the pilot was also cited for a delay in feathering the engine, and the extreme nose up altitude of the plane during takeoff. Both of those factors contributed to the downing of the plane.

Another plane bearing registration No. VT-AYG crashed on 24 MAY 1962 near Rajshahi

Rajshahi

The city of Rajshahi is the divisional headquarters of Rajshahi division as well as the administrative district that bears its name and is one of the six metropolitan cities of Bangladesh. Often referred to as Silk City and Education City, Rajshahi is located in the north-west of the country and...

 in Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

. The cause of crash has been attributed to fatigue failure of the no. 1 engine forcing the crew of the DC-3 to continue on a single engine (no. 2). After a while the remaining engine lost power due to overheating resulting in crash of the aircraft.

The third aircraft (registration No. VT-DEM) was taken over by Indian Air Force

Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...

.