Air India Pilot's Last Words To Air Traffic Control Are A Chilling Prelude To Tragedy
The pilot of the London-bound Air India jet that crashed Thursday put out an urgent call as the Boeing 787-8 quickly lost altitude on takeoff.
'Mayday ... no thrust, losing power, unable to lift,' Sumeet Sabharwal told traffic control less than a minute into the flight, perreports.
The plane slammed into a medical building in Ahmedabad, killing all but one of its 242 passengers. At least 24 people died on the ground, according to Reuters.
Sabharwal, 60, was just a few months away from retirement, his neighbors told the Indian Express. He had planned to take care of his 90-year-old father.
He had a sister in Delhi whose sons are also commercial pilots, according to the outlet.
The lone survivor aboard, 38-year-old Vishwashkumar Ramesh, who lives in Leicester, England, said he suffered 'impact injuries' to his chest, eyes and feet.
'When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran,' he told Hindustan Times. '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.'
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