India plane crash live: Ahmedabad to Gatwick flight carrying 242 people crashes; British national reportedly survived

Sky News

2 days ago

15:26:40
British national survived Air India plane crash - NDTV report
A British man who claims to have survived the crash in Ahmedabad has described the moment the plane went down.
According to Sky News' partner network NDTV, Ahmedabad's police commissioner said one passenger survived the crash. NDTV names him as British-Indian man Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times newspaper, Ramesh said he heard a "loud noise" around 30 seconds after take-off before the plane went down.
"It all happened so quickly," he said, adding he had received "impact injuries" on his chest, eyes and feet.
"When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital."
He told Indian media he had lived in London for 20 years. He said that his brother Ajay was seated in a different row on the plane.
Separately, footage shared on social media showed a man limping away from the crash site and being led towards emergency services.
15:20:01
Reason landing gear was still out 'remains a mystery' - and why Boeing may ground planes
Paul Edwards, an aviation security analyst and fellow at the Royal Aeronautical Society, told Sky News the footage of the plane going down is difficult to watch.
"There are two things that are needed for an aircraft take-off. One is adequate airspeed and the other one is a rate of climb," he said. "And that had neither."
He added that normally pilots retract the aircraft's landing gear so that the plane can be more aerodynamic, and it's not clear why this wasn't done in the case of Air India Flight 171.
"It could have been he (the pilot) just didn't have time. Or it could be that perhaps he thought he could control it, go round again on land or even land straight ahead."
"We can't second-guess it," Edwards added. "So that remains, if you like, a mystery."
He was also asked if the tragic crash raises questions about the type of plane - a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
"Well, they've got an impeccable safety record so far, but there will be massive impetus to get to the bottom of this in case there is a factor that could be applied to other aircraft within the fleet," he said.
"In which case, they may have to ground them in, they may have to modify them."
15:12:30
'Injured passengers taken to hospitals', Air India boss says
Campbell Wilson, the boss of Air India, has released a video statement expressing his "deep sorrow" following the plane crash in Ahmedabad.
"This is a difficult day for all of us at Air India," he says. "Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families and loved ones."
He says the "injured passengers have been taken by local authorities to the nearest hospitals".
"Investigations will take time, but anything we can do now, we are doing," Wilson adds.
15:07:01
Plane's path to crash - what tracking data and imagery tells us
By Tom Cheshire, data and forensics correspondent
Authorities quickly confirmed that Flight AI 171 crashed shortly after take-off - this is what tracking data and imagery of the crash can tell us.
The plane took off on the usual flight path for this airport, bound for Gatwick.
Watch below: Flight route shows plane's path
This is based on incomplete tracking data - Flightradar24 has updated its findings, saying: "Additional processing confirms #AI171 departed using the full length of Runway 23 at Ahmedabad. RWY 23 is 11,499 feet long. The aircraft backtracked to the end of the runway before beginning its take-off roll."
The crash location is only a couple of kilometres from the runway.
There appear to be two main locations of plane debris.
The initial crash, where the tail of the plane separated.
And then further wreckage as the plane continued into apartment blocks, where the main fire broke out.
The buildings it landed on appear to be the Atulyam 3 residential block and the Royal Mess food hall.
Reviews online say that: "Atulyam is basically a series of flats and buildings for [medical] students of the civil hospital, Ahmedabad and an attached group of hospitals."
14:58:09
Air India's owners to offer victims' families around £86,000, company says
Air India's owners, Tata Group, will offer around £86,000 to the families of each person who died in the Ahmedabad plane crash, the company said.
A statement attributed to Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chairperson of Air India, says the medical expenses of those injured will also be covered.
"We remain steadfast in standing with the affected families and communities during this unimaginable time," it adds.
14:57:01
UK sending air accident inspectors to India
The UK is deploying a team of four air accident inspectors to Ahmedabad to assist their Indian counterparts, a special adviser for the Department for Transport says.
The team, from the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, will depart from London this evening and arrive on site tomorrow afternoon.
A liaison official is also being sent to Gatwick, where a reception centre for relatives is being set up.
14:50:01
Portuguese and Canadian leaders share messages in response to crash
Among the 242 passengers on board, seven were Portuguese nationals and one was Canadian.
Their conditions are not yet known.
The leaders of each country have expressed condolences for the families of victims.
Luis Montenegro, Portugal's prime minister, wrote in a post on social media: "It was with deep dismay that I learned of the tragic aviation accident in India, in which 7 citizens of Portuguese nationality were involved.
"On my behalf and that of the government, I wish to express condolences and profound solidarity with the families of the victims."
Mark Carney, Canada's prime minister, said he was "devastated" to learn of the crash.
"My thoughts are with the loved ones of everyone on board," he wrote on social media.
"Canada's transportation officials are in close contact with counterparts and I am receiving regular updates as the response to this tragedy unfolds."
14:43:01
Several fatal crashes in Air India's nine decades of operation
Air India, which started operations in 1932, and its subsidiary Air India Express, have suffered several fatal crashes over the years.
According to Aviation Safety Network (ASN), the most recent fatal crashes were:
May 2010: Boeing 737-800 (Air India Express) overshot the runway at Mangalore, India, and crashed into a gorge, killing 158 people.
August 2020: Boeing 737-800 (Air India Express) after landing in Karipur, India, the aircraft left the runway, rolled down an embankment and broke up, killing 21 people.
Here are some recent non-fatal incidents, according to ASN, which references various sources:
September 2024: Boeing 737-8HG (Air India Express) suffered engine problems after taking off from Delhi, which was confirmed by the airline, and the aircraft returned to the airport.
October 2024: Boeing 737-8HG (Air India Express) declared an emergency immediately after take-off due to a hydraulic issue in Tamil Nadu, eventually landing safely, which a local minister said had affected the landing gear.
December 2024: Airbus A320-251N started the take-off roll (the start of building up speed to take off) on a taxiway instead of the runway at Goa, according to the aviation safety regulator, but stopped when alerted by a tower controller.
December 2024: Boeing 737-86N (Air India Express) returned to land at Kochi after tyre debris was found on the runway, according to Onmanorama, a local news outlet in Kerala.
January 2025: Airbus A320-251N suffered an engine shutdown after departing Bangalore and landed safely at the same location, according to the Times of India.