London-Bound Flight Crashes in India with Hundreds on Board
An Air India Boeing 787-8 bound for London's Gatwick Airport crashed near the airport in Ahmedabad, western India, with more than 200 people on board. Photo: via REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
14 minutes ago
- Politico
Air India black box recovered after crash that killed 241 onboard and several others on the ground
AHMEDABAD, India — The flight data recorder from the crashed Air India flight was recovered Friday in what likely will lead to clues about the cause of the accident that killed 241 people on the plane and a number of others on the ground. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel when the plane came down shortly after takeoff on Thursday in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. The plane's digital flight data recorder, or black box, was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site and India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said that it had begun its work with 'full force.' The black box recovery marks an important step forward in the investigation, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a social media post. The device will reveal information about the engine and control settings, in addition to what the voice recorder will show about the cockpit conversations, Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the U.K.-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers said in a statement. 'This should show quickly if there was a loss of engine power or lift after takeoff and allow a preliminary determination of the likely cause for the crash,' said Fromme, who heads the professional association's Aerospace Division. Separately, the country's civil aviation regulator ordered Air India to conduct additional inspections of its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners equipped with General Electric's GEnx engines. That includes checks of the fuel parameters, cabin air compressor, engine control system, hydraulic system and takeoff parameters, the order said. Investigators on Friday continued searching the site of one of India's worst aviation disasters and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the lone surviving passenger a day after the crash. Aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for both the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, said investigators should be able to answer some important questions about what caused the crash as soon as next week as long as the flight data recorder is in good shape. Investigators likely are looking at whether wing flaps were set correctly, whether the engine lost power, whether alarms were going off inside the cockpit and whether the plane's crew correctly inputted information about the hot temperature outside and the weight of the fuel and passengers, Guzzetti said. Mistakes in the data could result in the wing flaps being set incorrectly, he said. 'I'm not saying that this accident's going to be solved immediately, but I think some basic factual questions will be able to be answered in quick order,' Guzzetti said. At least five people were were killed on the ground and about 50 injured, but many more victims victims were expected to be found in the search of the crash site. DNA testing was being conducted to identify bodies that were mostly charred beyond recognition. The plane hit a building hosting a medical college hostel and burst into flames, killing several students, in the city that is the capital of Gujarat, Modi's home state. 'We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words,' Modi said on social media after visiting the site. 'We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come.'
CBS News
30 minutes ago
- CBS News
Former University of Minnesota student among hundreds killed in Air India plane crash
A former University of Minnesota student and his sister were among the 241 people who died after an Air India passenger plane crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday, according to his friend and former classmate. Shubh Modi, a 2022 graduate who received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, and Shagun Modi were on the flight that went down shortly after taking off for London's Gatwick airport, the friend told WCCO. Shubh Modi WCCO Officials confirmed one man who had been on the plane survived after initially saying there were no known survivors from the crash of flight AI171. Air India said those on board the plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The sole survivor of Air India's crash described feeling stuck midair within seconds of takeoff
NEW DELHI (AP) — The lone passenger who survived the Air India crash that killed 241 people onboard couldn't believe he was alive when he opened his eyes, surrounded by flames, debris and charred bodies. The British national of Indian origin, Viswashkumar Ramesh, was headed to London when the flight crashed minutes after taking off from India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. It was one of India's worst aviation disasters and the first crash for a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner since the widebody, twin-engine planes went into service in 2009, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. Currently admitted in a local government hospital, Ramesh narrated his ordeal to India's national broadcaster, saying the aircraft seemed stuck midair within a few seconds of the takeoff. He said green and white lights came on, and right after that, the aircraft accelerated but seemed unable to gain height before it crashed. Seated in 11A, Ramesh said his side of the plane fell onto the ground floor of a building, and there was space for him to escape after the door broke open. He unfastened his seat belt and forced himself out of the plane. 'When I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,' he said. Ramesh sustained burn injuries on his left hand and walked some distance in shock before he was assisted by the locals and taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the crash side on Friday, met the lone survivor. 'I told Modi what all I had witnessed. He also enquired about my health,' Ramesh said from his hospital bed. Dr. Dhaval Gameti, who treated him, said he was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body but seems to be out of danger. Ramesh, who had his boarding pass with him in the hospital, said he saw several passengers and crew members losing their lives and parts of the plane strewn around the crash site. Ramesh was traveling with his brother and called relatives in Leicester after the crash, his cousin, Ajay Valgi, told the BBC. He has a wife and 'little boy' at home. 'He only said that he's fine, nothing else,' Valgi said, adding that the family is 'happy that he's OK, but we're still upset about the other brother.' Ramesh's brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh ,told Sky News that his brother called his father moments after the crash to say he had survived. 'He video called my dad as he crashed and said, 'Oh the plane's crashed. I don't know where my brother is. I don't see any other passengers. I don't know how I'm alive, how I exited the plane',' he told Sky. ___ This story corrects the spelling of Ramesh's first name. Rajesh Roy, The Associated Press
