
WATCH: Air India plane crashes after takeoff to UK from Ahmedabad, India
An Air India passenger plane bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12. According to local media, the plane crashed near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. According to flight information, the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which can carry over 250 passengers. Flightradar24 said it 'received the last signal from the aircraft … just seconds after takeoff.' Air India said Flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an 'accident' after takeoff. They said the plane was carrying 242 passengers and crew members. Of these, '169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals,' the airline said.

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Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Is seat 11A the safest on a plane? Not really, experts say
By Joe Brock and Lisa Barrington LONDON (Reuters) -The survival of a passenger who escaped through an exit door seconds after his Air India flight crashed killing everyone else on board has prompted speculation over whether his seat, 11A, is the safest. Aviation experts say it is not so straightforward because aircraft vary widely in seat configurations, crashes are unique and survival often hinges on a complex interplay of factors. "Each accident is different, and it is impossible to predict survivability based on seat location," said Mitchell Fox, a director at Flight Safety Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit. Ramesh Viswashkumar said his 11A seat was near an emergency exit on the London-bound Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday and he managed to walk out. Sitting next to an exit door might help you survive an accident but it won't always be 11A because aircraft can have dozens of different configurations. "In this particular instance, because the passenger was sitting adjacent to the emergency exit, this was obviously the safest seat on the day," said Ron Bartsch, Chairman at Sydney-based AvLaw Aviation Consulting. "But it's not always 11A, it's just 11A on this configuration of the Boeing 787." A 2007 Popular Mechanics study of crashes since 1971 found that passengers towards the back of the plane had better survival odds. Some experts suggest the wing section offers more stability. Sitting next to an exit door, like Viswashkumar, gives you an opportunity to be one of the first out of the plane, although some exits don't function after a crash. The opposite side of the plane was blocked by the wall of a building it crashed into, he said. In January of last year, a panel missing several bolts blew off the side of a Boeing 737 MAX mid-flight, creating a gaping hole and damaging the adjacent seat. Fortunately, no one was seated there at the time, and the incident resulted in no fatalities. Sitting by the aisle might offer you a speedier escape but it increases the likelihood of being hit in the head by luggage falling out of the overhead bins - a much more common occurrence than major crashes. SAFETY BRIEFINGS Paying attention to the safety briefing at the start of your flight - often dismissed as routine - is likely the best way to improve your chances of survival, experts say. Disciplined compliance with cabin crew evacuation advice, including leaving bags behind, was a key factor in saving the lives of all 379 passengers and crew aboard a Japan Airlines flight in January last year. The Airbus A350 aircraft had collided with a Coast Guard plane at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, killing five of the six crew members on the smaller aircraft. Safety briefings typically cover critical instructions such as how to fasten your seatbelt securely, adopt the correct brace position and plan your evacuation route. A common tip is to count the number of rows between your seat and the nearest exit - vital knowledge if the cabin fills with smoke and visibility is low. Despite disasters such as the Air India crash, plane designs have evolved to increase the likelihood of passengers walking away from a rare plane accident, Fox said. These include floor path lighting, fire detection and extinguishers, less flammable cabin materials and improved access to emergency exits. "There have been remarkable advancements in airplane cabin design that have improved the survivability of accidents on or near the ground," Fox said.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Air India, government probing engine thrust, flaps, landing gear after crash, source says
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Air India and the Indian government are looking at several aspects of the Boeing 787-8 crash in Ahmedabad, including issues with the jet's engine thrust, its flaps, and why its landing gear remained open, a source with direct knowledge told Reuters on Friday. The government is also looking at whether Air India was at fault, including over maintenance issues, the source said. More than 240 people were killed in the crash on Thursday.


Chicago Tribune
39 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
What to know about the Air India plane crash that killed more than 240 people
AHMEDABAD, India — The Air India plane crash this week was one of India's worst aviation disasters, killing 241 people on board and several people on the ground. Indian authorities said Friday the investigation into the crash was underway, which is expected to include experts from the plane's maker Boeing and U.S. aviation regulators. The Air India plane crashed minutes after takeoff Thursday afternoon in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Surreal images captured both the plane's last moments and the horror of the crash site, with rescuers picking through smoking debris as they searched for survivors. Here's what is known about the crash: The lone survivor was a passenger, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin. Ramesh was thrown from the aircraft and walked to an ambulance, according to Dr. Dhaval Gameti, who treated Ramesh. The doctor told The Associated Press that Ramesh was disoriented, with multiple injuries, but that he seemed to be out of danger. Another medic said Ramesh told him that immediately after the plane took off, it began descending and suddenly split in two, throwing him out before a loud explosion. The airline said there were no other survivors among the 242 passengers and crew on board. Security camera footage verified by The Associated Press showed the plane taking off and then veering slightly to the side. It then drops into a downward glide, disappears briefly from sight and hits the ground. Moments later, a huge orange and black fireball appears, rising high into the air. At the crash site, the tail cone of the aircraft with damaged stabilizer fins still attached was lodged near the top of a building. The plane's jagged cavity has torn into the facade. A web of cracks spirals outward from the plane's impact. The battered building in Ahmedabad was the dining area for medical students, and they were having lunch when the plane crashed. Indrajeet Singh Solanki, an eyewitness and rescuer, said that at first it was chaotic, smoke everywhere. 'We could see some small parts (of the plane) burning. Just like this wing lying over here,' he said. 'Through the smoke, we kept rescuing injured people and rushed them to the trauma center in the civil hospital in auto rickshaws. We rushed nine people to the hospital.' The airline had been plagued by tragedy and financial losses under prior state ownership. In 2010, an Air India flight arriving from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, overshot the runway in Mangalore, India, and plunged over a cliff, killing 158 of the 166 people on board. In 2020, a flight for the Air India Express subsidiary skidded off a runway in southern India during heavy rain and cracked in two — killing 18 people and injuring more than 120 others. An Air India Boeing 747 flight crashed into the Arabian Sea in 1978, killing all 213 aboard. The carrier was under government control from 1953 through 2022. The Boeing 787 went into service in 2009. This was the first crash of the model, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. The 787 Dreamliner was the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries, which are lighter, recharge faster and can hold more energy than other types of batteries. In 2013 the 787 fleet was temporarily grounded because of overheating of its lithium-ion batteries, which in some cases sparked fires. There was no information yet about possible causes of the crash. Authorities were searching the crash site Friday as part of the investigation, and there was no word whether the plane's black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — had been recovered.