India plane crash death toll climbs to 270 as more bodies found
Search and recovery teams continued scouring the site of one of India's worst aviation disasters for a third day after the Air India flight fell from the sky and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said overnight.
The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived.
Recovery teams working until late Friday (local time) found at least 25 more bodies in the debris, officials said.
Dr. Dhaval Gameti at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad told The Associated Press the facility had received 270 bodies, adding that the lone surviving passenger was still under observation for some of his wounds.
'He is doing very well and will be ready to be discharged anytime soon,' Gameti said Saturday.
Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims have provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognisable.
Some relatives expressed frustration Saturday that the process was taking too long.
Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching, and they are expediting the process.
'Where are my children? Did you recover them?' asked Rafiq Abdullah, whose nephew, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were on the flight.
'I will have to ask questions. Government is not answering these questions."
Another relative persistently asked hospital staff when his relative's body would be handed over to the family for last rites.
'Give us the body,' the relative insisted.
Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government says it has formed a high-level, multi-disciplinary committee to examine the causes leading to the crash.
The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future and 'will not be a substitute to other enquiries being conducted by relevant organisations," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement.
Authorities have begun inspecting Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday in New Delhi at his first news briefing since Thursday's crash.
Eight of the 34 Dreamliner aircraft in India have already undergone inspection, Kinjarapu said, adding that the remaining aircraft will be examined with 'immediate urgency.'
The government is eagerly awaiting results of the crash investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and all necessary steps will be taken without hesitation, Kinjarapu said.
Investigators on Friday recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder, or the black box, which was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site and likely will lead to clues about the cause of the accident.
India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said it had started working with 'full force' to extract the data.
The device is expected to reveal information about the engine and control settings, while the voice recorder will provide cockpit conversations, said Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for both the US 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, the engine lost power, alarms were going off inside the cockpit, and if the plane's crew correctly logged 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.
Thursday's Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787.
Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft.
There are currently around 1200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
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Otago Daily Times
9 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
US officials survey Air India crash site
Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) surveyed the site of Air India plane crash that killed at least 271 people, sources said on Sunday, with families continuing to wait for DNA profiling results to identify charred bodies. Along with the NTSB, officials from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were in Ahmedabad in western India's Gujarat state surveying the crash site, said one source with direct knowledge. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick Airport south of London began losing height seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday, and erupted in a huge fireball as it hit buildings below. All but one on board were declared dead in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. Around 30 people died on the ground. Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down. The secretary of the US Department of Transport, Sean Duffy, said on Friday he was in the process of deploying a team from the FAA and the NTSB to India. Boeing and GE, whose engines were used in the plane, were also sending teams. "We'll take action should any recommendations come forward from the NTSB's investigation," Duffy said. The FAA and NSTB did not immediately respond to Reuters queries outside regular business hours. The FAA has said India will lead the investigation, but the NTSB is the official US representative for providing assistance, while the FAA provides technical support. Boeing BA.N officials will also look at various parameters in their inspections, including the angle of landing, as they investigate the matter, said the first source. In all, around 10 officials were present at the site on Sunday, including from the NTSB, said the second source. India's aviation regulator has ordered all Boeing 787s being operated by local carriers to be inspected. The crash brings a fresh challenge for both Air India which has for years being trying to revamp its fleet, and Boeing, which is trying to rebuild public trust following a series of safety and production crises. In Ahmedabad, doctors were struggling to identify bodies that were charred in the incident, resorting to dental samples and DNA profiling. DNA samples of 32 victims from the crash have been successfully matched, Rajnish Patel, additional superintendent at the city's main hospital, said on Sunday. "The bodies for which DNA samples have been matched are being handed over to the families with due respect," he said.
Otago Daily Times
9 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
US officials survey Air India crash site; toll tops 270
Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) surveyed the site of Air India plane crash that killed at least 271 people, sources said on Sunday, with families continuing to wait for DNA profiling results to identify charred bodies. Along with the NTSB, officials from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were in Ahmedabad in western India's Gujarat state surveying the crash site, said one source with direct knowledge. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick Airport south of London began losing height seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday, and erupted in a huge fireball as it hit buildings below. All but one on board were declared dead in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. Around 30 people died on the ground. Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down. The secretary of the US Department of Transport, Sean Duffy, said on Friday he was in the process of deploying a team from the FAA and the NTSB to India. Boeing and GE, whose engines were used in the plane, were also sending teams. "We'll take action should any recommendations come forward from the NTSB's investigation," Duffy said. The FAA and NSTB did not immediately respond to Reuters queries outside regular business hours. The FAA has said India will lead the investigation, but the NTSB is the official US representative for providing assistance, while the FAA provides technical support. Boeing BA.N officials will also look at various parameters in their inspections, including the angle of landing, as they investigate the matter, said the first source. In all, around 10 officials were present at the site on Sunday, including from the NTSB, said the second source. India's aviation regulator has ordered all Boeing 787s being operated by local carriers to be inspected. The crash brings a fresh challenge for both Air India which has for years being trying to revamp its fleet, and Boeing, which is trying to rebuild public trust following a series of safety and production crises. In Ahmedabad, doctors were struggling to identify bodies that were charred in the incident, resorting to dental samples and DNA profiling. DNA samples of 32 victims from the crash have been successfully matched, Rajnish Patel, additional superintendent at the city's main hospital, said on Sunday. "The bodies for which DNA samples have been matched are being handed over to the families with due respect," he said.
1News
10 hours ago
- 1News
India plane crash death toll climbs to 270 as more bodies found
Search and recovery teams continued scouring the site of one of India's worst aviation disasters for a third day after the Air India flight fell from the sky and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said overnight. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Recovery teams working until late Friday (local time) found at least 25 more bodies in the debris, officials said. Dr. Dhaval Gameti at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad told The Associated Press the facility had received 270 bodies, adding that the lone surviving passenger was still under observation for some of his wounds. 'He is doing very well and will be ready to be discharged anytime soon,' Gameti said Saturday. Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims have provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognisable. Some relatives expressed frustration Saturday that the process was taking too long. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching, and they are expediting the process. 'Where are my children? Did you recover them?' asked Rafiq Abdullah, whose nephew, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were on the flight. 'I will have to ask questions. Government is not answering these questions." Another relative persistently asked hospital staff when his relative's body would be handed over to the family for last rites. 'Give us the body,' the relative insisted. Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government says it has formed a high-level, multi-disciplinary committee to examine the causes leading to the crash. The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future and 'will not be a substitute to other enquiries being conducted by relevant organisations," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement. Authorities have begun inspecting Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday in New Delhi at his first news briefing since Thursday's crash. Eight of the 34 Dreamliner aircraft in India have already undergone inspection, Kinjarapu said, adding that the remaining aircraft will be examined with 'immediate urgency.' The government is eagerly awaiting results of the crash investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and all necessary steps will be taken without hesitation, Kinjarapu said. Investigators on Friday recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder, or the black box, which was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site and likely will lead to clues about the cause of the accident. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said it had started working with 'full force' to extract the data. The device is expected to reveal information about the engine and control settings, while the voice recorder will provide cockpit conversations, said Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for both the US 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, the engine lost power, alarms were going off inside the cockpit, and if the plane's crew correctly logged 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. Thursday's Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. There are currently around 1200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
