Indian astrologer 'predicted plane crash one week before Air India tragedy'

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

An Indian astrologer warned of a devastating plane crash just one week before the Air India tragedy that saw a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plummet just minutes after take off.
The astrologer, who goes by the name Astro Sharmistha on social media, had tweeted last year that in 2025 'plane crash headlines may give us shock.'
But last week, she reiterated her prediction, warning on social platform X: 'I am still holding high the prediction of [a] plane crash and destruction in aviation in 2025.'
The tweet, which she posted on June 5, has gone viral following Thursday's plane crash in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, leaving hundreds of social media users stunned.
'[You] have yet again proved your accuracy...I'm just left speechless by [your] prediction for a plane crash...', one X account wrote.
Another commented: 'How can your prediction be so accurate always?'.
Her shocking prediction began trending on social media just hours after the Air India flight bound for London Gatwick crashed and exploded into a fireball.
Local authorities have said that there were no survivors on the Gatwick-bound flight carrying 242 passengers, including 53 Britons.
Speaking to reporters, regional police chief G.S. Malik added that 'some locals would have also died', given the plane smashed into offices and accommodation for doctors close to a hospital as it came down.
Aviation experts say that Air India Flight 171 may have suddenly lost power 'at the most critical phase of flight' after takeoff.
The possible causes are believed to include a rapid change in wind or a bird strike leading to a double engine stall.
Officials from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are now at the scene to carry out an analysis of the wreckage and retrieve the stricken jet's black box.
Videos shared on social media showed the aircraft rapidly losing altitude - with its nose up - before it hit a building and erupted in a violent explosion.
The number of fatalities is not yet known but rescuers said at least 30 bodies have so far been recovered from buildings damaged by the jet.
'Our office is near the building where the plane crashed. We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames,' said one resident, who declined to be named.
The passengers included 159 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian. Eleven of those on board were children, including two newborns.
The tail of the jet is seen protruding from a building in the Meghani area of the city
The Boeing jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport in Gujarat at around 1:40pm (0810 GMT), officials said.
Ahmedabad, the main city of India's Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people, and the busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas.
'When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames,' resident Poonam Patni told AFP.
'Many of the bodies were burned,' she added.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes from the crash were 'devastating', in a statement addressing passengers and their families 'at this deeply distressing time.'
Boeing said it was 'working to gather more information' on the incident which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.
Lt. Col. John R. Davidson, a former US Air Force pilot and commercial aviation safety consultant, said the plane appeared to have reached takeoff speed but not altitude, according to flight data, suggesting 'either a very late rotation or a stall shortly after takeoff'.
'There are a number of possible scenarios: thrust or engine performance issues, excessive aircraft weight, poor trim or flap configuration, or a more critical failure that affected the aircraft's ability to climb,' he said.
'Weather, windshear or even bird strike can't be ruled out either at this early stage.'
Preliminary flight tracking data from flightradar24 reveals the plane reached an altitude of just 625ft after takeoff - a height far below standard for a commercial aircraft several minutes into departure.
Captain Saurabh Bhatnagar, a former senior pilot, told NDTV that circulating footage showing the plane's terrifying descent 'looked like a case of multiple bird hits wherein both the engines have lost power'.
'The takeoff was perfect,' he said. 'And just, I believe, short of taking the gear up, the aircraft started descending, which can happen only in case the engine loses power or the aircraft stops developing lift.'
Aviation expert Sanjay Lazar noted that the Dreamliner was only 11 years old, so was unlikely to have underlying technical issues. The plane was under the command of Captain Summeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of experience.
A bird strike 'would explain why the aircraft did not have the power to lift,' he said. 'If there were multiple bird hits on take-off, it probably could not have gone beyond the 6-7 minute threshold and started falling.'
In pilots' forums, aviation experts said that it sounded like the plane's Ram Air Turbine (RAT), an emergency wind turbine, had been deployed shortly before the crash.