Saturday's air crash in Mangalore is the third worst air disaster in the country in the past 48
years.

The worst tragedy was in Charki Dadri in Haryana on November 12, 1996 when 349 passengers were killed in a mid-air collision. On January one 1978, 213 people were killed when an Air India flight to Dubai crashed off Mumbai coast.

A total of 329 people lost their lives when Air India flight 'Kanishka' from Montreal to Delhi was blown up by terrorists in mid-air on June 23, 1985, but that incident took place near the Irish coast.

Following is the chronology of accidents involving aircraft in the country:

July 7, 1962: Alitalia flight from Sydney crashes into a hill near Mumbai, 94 killed

January 1, 1978: Air India flight crashes into Arabian Sea; 213 killed

Jun 21, 1982: Air India flight crashes at Mumbai airport, 17 of 111 passengers killed

Oct 19, 1988: Air India flight crashes at Ahmedabad, 124 out of 129 passengers killed

Feb 14, 1990: Air India flight crashes at Bangalore, 92 out of 146 passengers killed

August 16, 1991: Air India flight crashes at Imphal, 69 killed

April 26, 1993: Air India flight crashes at Aurangabad airport, 55 of 118 passengers killed

November 12, 1996: Planes of Saudi Arabian Airlines and Kazakhastan Airlines collide in mid-air near Charki Dadri in Haryana, 349 people killed

July 17, 2000: Alliance Air flight crashes at Patna airport, 60 passengers killed

September 4, 2009: One of the engines of Air India flight catches fire at Mumbai airport, 21 injured

May 22, 2010: Air India plane crashes in Mangalore, 158 killed.