Vijay Rupani explored Boeing cockpit two months before Air India plane crash
The Boeing 737-200 aircraft, where the photos were taken, is about 50 years old and is placed on the campus of Indus University for educational purposes. It was brought to the university seven years ago. The aviation department of the university invited him to sit inside the cockpit of the old Boeing aircraft. Captain Umang Jani, Head of the Aviation Department at the Western India Institute of Aeronautics, said Rupani was very curious and asked many questions about how planes fly and how pilots control them. He sat in the pilot's seat and showed great interest in the cockpit instruments.'He asked where to place feet, how to hold the controls, and was amazed by the meters and switches,' said Jani.
In a twist of fate, it is worth mentioning that the cockpit of the Boeing 737-200 aircraft in which the former CM was seated is quite similar to that of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. However, the Dreamliner uses advanced digital systems while the older aircraft relies on analog controls.Rupani had shared the cockpit photos on his social media shortly after his visit. After his tragic death, those photos are being widely shared again.- EndsMust Watch
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Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
At medical college, counselling sessions to deal with Ahmedabad crash trauma
Till 1.38 pm on June 12, aircraft spotting was one of the favourite pastimes of medical students of B J Medical College, located on the flight path, around a kilometre from Ahmedabad airport. Barely 10 minutes later that day, the world as generations of students knew it changed irrevocably. At 1.38 pm on June 12, an Air India Boeing-787 Dreamliner carrying 242 people to London Gatwick Airport took off from the airport. Moments later, it started plummeting at a speed of over 400 feet per minute, its tail hitting the first-floor mess at the college's Atulyam hostel during lunchtime. Besides the 241 of 242 people on the plane who died, casualties in the mess included four medical students, two each were from first and second-year MBBS, a mess worker, her toddler granddaughter and a doctor's wife. Cordoned off for investigation since the crash, students say lunchtime at the new mess is still an anxious affair due to the lives lost and the sound of planes flying overhead. To help them process their trauma, the college has organised two voluntary mass counselling sessions — one each for its first and second-year students — this month. While a session was held for first-year students on July 1, the second one was organised on July 3 for second-year students. Despite the new mess being located on the ground floor of Sopanam hostel 7-8, where first and second-year medical students are housed, barely 150 metres from the damaged site at Atulyam hostel, a first-year student tells The Indian Express, 'We are coping but mushkil hai (it is tough).' Medical students Manav Bhadu and Jayprakash Choudhary of Rajasthan, Rakesh Gobarbhai Diyora of Gujarat and Aryan Rajput of Madhya Pradesh lost their lives in the Atulyam hostel mess on June 12. While the mass grief counselling sessions are for first- and second-year MBBS students alone, the on-campus Students Counselling Centre (SCC) is open to all, including MBBS, nursing and physiotherapy students. Dr Meenakshi Parikh, college dean and the head of the psychiatry department, says they decided to start separate mass counselling sessions for first and second-year students after none of them approached the SCC. 'We decided to reach out to them instead,' she says. Apart from freshers, aged between 18 and 19 years, even second-year students admitted to feeling anxious each time they set foot in the new hostel mess. 'They told us the mess reminds them of the crash. Some still avoid going there. Instead of feeling fascinated with planes like before, they feel traumatised since the death of their fellow students. They say they either get flashbacks or panic as soon as they see a plane overhead or hear one,' says Dr Disha Vasavada, an Assistant Professor in the college's psychiatry department who spoke to the students about grief in these counselling sessions. During the July 1 session, nearly 60% of the 250 first-year students sat huddled in groups in the college's dissection hall, as a professor from the psychiatry department used an audio-visual PowerPoint presentation to talk to them about grief in context of the crash. During the one-hour interactive session, a team of senior faculty members from the department, Dr Kesha Khaitani, Dr Urvika Parikh, Dr Ajay Vaghela and Dr Nisha Prajapati, explained grief, its symptoms, its stages and its management. Stating that some students are still absent, Dr Prajapati says, 'We are actively motivating students to resume their classes. We deliberately held the sessions in an informal setting, where the students would feel at ease. While the sight or sound of an airplane still evokes fear, their trauma is expected, given that they lost their classmates. We are trying to make them understand and deal with their trauma.' For now, the counselling team is approaching the first and second-year students in groups. They feel the students may not have sought individual counselling sessions as they may not be aware of their own feelings. 'Their expressions change when we talk about the crash. They become calm. Some students told us that while it is difficult, they are coping somehow,' Dr Vasavada says. Depending on the feedback, the dean says they will decide on continuing the sessions. 'We want to give them some time and space for now. After that, we will take a call on organising more sessions,' Dr Parikh adds.
Hindustan Times
15 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Remains of 16 more victims retrieved from Air India crash site in Ahmedabad
Authorities have recovered the mortal remains of 16 more victims from the Air India flight 171's crash site in Ahmedabad, nearly three weeks after the tragic mishap on June 12. These remains are part of the confirmed death toll of 260 passengers and crew members who lost their lives in one of India's worst aviation accidents. A police officer stands in front of the wreckage of the Ahmedabad-London Gatwick Air India aircraft that crashed shortly after take-off on June 12. (REUTERS) The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed approximately 30 seconds after takeoff from Gujarat's Ahmedabad airport, ploughing into a hostel block of BJ Medical College in the Meghani Nagar neighbourhood. The London-bound aircraft had 242 passengers and crew members. Only one man, seated near the emergency exit on 11A, survived the crash. 'Of the 16 mortal remains, families of six victims have accepted the bodies for final rites, while nine families have requested hospital authorities to conduct the final ceremonies on their behalf. We are still attempting to contact one family regarding the handover process,' an official at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital said. The recovery process has been ongoing for over three weeks, with rescue teams working through the debris field that spans both the crash site and the damaged medical college building. 'The identification of the body parts recently recovered, mainly bones, is being done at the Ahmedabad FSL and it takes about 48-72 hours for successful DNA matching. The identification process has been painstaking but thorough,' said a second official aware of the development. The crash, which occurred around 1:40pm on June 12, is described as one of India's worst aviation disasters. The aircraft began losing altitude shortly after takeoff and the flight crew issued a Mayday call before the aircraft crashed into the medical college hostel. Among the victims on the ground were junior doctors, staff at the hospital complex and people on the street below. One passenger walked out of the crash site after he was flung from the burning wreckage. The impact of the crash and the inferno that followed meant that remains of most of the victims, except for the 19 casualties on the ground, were charred beyond recognition, requiring officials to seek DNA samples from family members to help make the identification. The sole survivor, Viswashkumar Ramesh, has since been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home. HT was the first to report about the lone survivor from the crash after interviewing him at the hospital. 'He is still recovering from his injuries, especially the one on his leg. Also, he is under a lot of mental trauma from the incident, especially the loss of his younger brother who was seated in another bay of the aircraft,' a relative of the survivor in Diu said. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau continues to investigate the crash with assistance from the UK, the US, and Boeing officials. Both black boxes have been recovered from the crash site, and preliminary investigations are focusing on potential engine and flap issues. The crash also claimed the lives of at least four medical students who were in the hostel's dining area when the aircraft struck the building. Nearly 70 people in the building were injured in the impact. Of the 19 non-passengers who died in the crash, four of them succumbed to their injuries during treatment at the hospital. The last passenger to be identified was Anil Khimani, 32, a native of Bhuj in Kutch, whose remains were found at the crash site on June 25. His DNA matching was completed on June 27 night at the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in Gandhinagar. The remains were handed over to his family on June 28.
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Time of India
Second set of AI-171 crash remains handed over to six families in Gujarat
Six grieving families stepped once more through the gates of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on Thursday. In their hands, another set of remains. These were recovered weeks after the Air India AI-171 crash , which ripped through the Meghaninagar area on 12 June. DNA tests confirmed the fragments belonged to loved ones already laid to rest. Some families will now perform a second funeral, an unusual step but one they accept. AI-171 crash that claimed 260 lives The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had taken off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport but never left the city skies. It smashed into the hostel complex of BJ Medical College, flattening parts of Meghaninagar and taking 260 lives in total. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 超幸福嬰兒命名改名專案！ 江紘均姓名開運網 了解更多 Undo Gujarat's health department confirmed 229 passengers and 12 crew were on board. Nineteen people on the ground were killed too. All remains went for DNA tests to match them to waiting families. Consent and DNA matching In the days after the crash, families received a form. Sources told Times of India that the form gave the hospital permission to carry out last rites if more remains surfaced. Live Events 'The form sought permission to carry out the last rites of remains that may be found during further clearing of the spot or during medical analysis,' an official told TOI. Families from Anand, Nadiad and Ahmedabad asked the hospital to inform them if more fragments matched their kin. For them, this second visit was expected, yet painful. 'It is rare for the same person to have more than one funeral, but in this case the families have the DNA match and certificate of handover of the mortal remains. Thus, there will be no issue even if there is more than one funeral for the remains,' an official said. Painful fragments, small closure New sets of remains are smaller than those found first. 'Some have part of the body, whereas some have one or more bones. Due to the nature of the crash, it is possible that victims' bodies underwent intense distress that may have caused fragmentation,' an official associated with the process explained to TOI. Out of 10 other victims, families of nine have allowed the hospital to handle any more remains. Only one family's response is still pending. More remains may yet be found as teams clear the last parts of the wreckage. Families wait for phone calls they wish would never come. Some hope this second farewell will bring peace. For a few, grief now comes twice. But so does a sense of duty — to do right by those who never came home.
