Two Air India Flight 171 cabin crew members who died on doomed flight pictured
Two female cabin crew members who died in the horror Air India Flight 171 crash have been pictured for the first time - all 12 crew members on the doomed plane were tragically killed
Two cabin crew members who died on the doomed Air India Flight 171 have bene pictured for the first time. There were 12 crew members among those who perished when the aircraft crashed into a fireball just minutes after it took off from Ahmedabad, in the north west of India, on Thursday.
The families of Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma and Singson Lamnunthem, from Manipur in the east of the country, have been left devastated by the horror news. 241 of the 242 passengers onboard tragically died when the aircraft, bound for Gatwick Airport, crashed into the densely populated Meghani area at around 1.40om local time yesterday.
One of Singson's family members heartbreakingly shared that their last conversation was brief and the cabin crew member said she was flying to London. Originally from Old Lambulane in Imphal West, Singson had moved to the Kangpokpi district after she was displaced by a continuing conflict in her home town which has raged since May 2023.
Having joined Air India's cabin crew in 2023, her family had also been forced to relocate due to the violence. Her family said they are anxiously waiting official confirmation about her fate but Indian authorities have already confirmed a British man was the sole survivor of the terrifying crash.
Local media revealed Kongbrailatpam family, in the Thoubal district of Manipur, had been left too grief-stricken to speak following the tragedy. Local politician Surjakumar Okram visited the family home and said: "We are still trying to trace Nganthoi."
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed just moments after it took off and terrifying footage caught the moment it fireballed. Shortly after take-off, the crew issued a "mayday" distress call, indicating an emergency situation. The captain, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of flying experience, desperately said: "Mayday…no thrust, losing power, unable to lift."
However, no further communication was received from the aircraft after the initial alert. Flight tracking service Flightradar24 reported that it lost the signal from the aircraft just seconds after it became airborne.
The only survivor for the shocking air disaster was British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. He described how the lights one the plane "started flickering" before it hit the ground.
The 40-year-old, who said he sat in seat 11a, told the Hindustan Times: "When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air. Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there."
He added: "I don't know how I survived. I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me … I walked out of the rubble."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'Miracle' survivor of Air India crash says he 'just walked out' of doomed jet before it exploded, killing 279
The sole survivor of the Air India crash has told how he 'just walked out' of the plane moments before it exploded in a fireball, killing 279 people. British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, described it as a 'miracle' that he was left with only minor injuries. He had been visiting his brother in India and was returning to England, where he lives, when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner went down shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad. It is said to be one of the worst disasters in India's aviation history, having claimed the lives of 279 people so far. Among the victims, which includes 53 British nationals, is the 40-year-old's brother Ajay Kumar, 35, who was sitting on the other side of the aisle from his brother. Vishwash, who is being treated at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, just a short distance from where the plane crashed into buildings, has spoken of the moment he escaped from the burning plane. While sitting up on a hospital bed, he told DD India that he was 'feeling better than yesterday' and that the 'treatment is going good'. Still in shock, he admitted he 'can't explain' everything that he witnessed as the plane plummeted to the ground. He was seated in 11A on the doomed flight from the western Indian city and managed to escape past one of its mangled doors before being assisted by locals and taken to hospital in an ambulance. 'The emergency door was broken, my seat is broken,' he said. Asked if he escaped the plane by jumping to the ground, he replied: 'I am not jumping. I just walked out.' 'It's a miracle,' he said when discussing his survival and injuries. His doctor added: 'He is having minor injuries only. He has some abrasions over his left forearm and swelling over left eyelid and over the eyes. 'Chest and abdomen is clear, no lung fractures present. The patient is vitally stable.' He added Vishwash had not complained of nausea, vomiting or any sort of fever. He is expected to be released in the next 48 hours, his relatives have said. Jigar Chunilal, who has been at his bedside since he was filmed walking away from the crash site dazed and bloodied, said: 'Not only is it a miracle that he survived but it's also a miracle that he had no serious injuries. 'He's still very shocked that he's still alive and so are we. 'The doctors have told us that he can go home within the next two days and that is incredible. 'But we are not sure when he will be leaving for the UK. He suffered some minor burns but no fractures, broken bones or any serious internal injuries.' Ramesh's parents, Manibhai and Bava, wife Hiral and two brothers, Sunnykumar and Nayankumar are expected to arrive in Ahmedabad over the weekend to visit him after leaving the UK on Friday night. Dazed: Astonishing footage showed the man walking away from the scene with some visible injuries to his face Chunilal added: 'We don't want to say too much because this is a very difficult time for us all. 'On one hand we are very happy that Viswashkumar survived but at the same time we are in mourning for Ajay.' He added that, as per Hindu custom, the family are keen to carry out Ajay's funeral as quickly as possible and will not return to the UK until this is done. Earlier Saturday, UK investigators with experience in aircraft operations, engineering and recorded data, arrived in the south Asian country in the wake of the tragedy. Terrifying CCTV footage showed the Boeing 787 Dreamliner careen to the ground shortly after takeoff in the densely populated Meghani area of the city at around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST). Detailing the moments after the crash, Vishwash described seeing several passengers and crew lose their lives as parts of the plane were scattered around the site. Still clutching his boarding pass at the hospital, he called his father in the aftermath of the tragedy. His brother Nyan told Sky News: '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." ' Devastatingly, injured Vishwash had been begging from his hospital bed: 'Find Ajay, you must find Ajay.' His cousin, Ajay Valgi, told the BBC, how Vishwash has a wife and 'little boy' at home: adding: 'He only said that he's fine, nothing else. [We are] happy that he's OK, but we're still upset about the other brother.' On Thursday, relatives gathered at the family's terraced home in central England to comfort the brothers' mother, who is said to be too grief-stricken to speak. 'It's a miracle at least one of them survived,' younger brother Nayan said. 'He said his plane had crashed and he couldn't find anyone, we couldn't believe it. There was blood running down his face.' The tragedy's death toll has increased to 279 dead, according to a senior Indian police source, making it one of the deadliest plane disasters of the 21st century. This is a further increase on an earlier figure of 265 victims, which includes those on the plane and ground. Air India said there were 242 people on board the London-bound flight, with only one survivor, with at least 38 people killed on the ground when the plane smashed into residential buildings. The official casualty number will not be finalized until the slow process of DNA identification is completed. The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) announced on Friday night that four of its investigators had arrived in India and have expertise in aircraft operations, engineering and recorded data. The 'release of information on the investigation rests solely with the Indian authorities,' it added. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. Grief: A family member cries upon hearing the news of her brother who died when the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, on June 12 Wreckage: People look at the debris of an Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad, located in India's Gujarat state Shocking: A view of the site where a plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in India's western state of Gujarat on June 12 The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call moments before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday after lifting barely 330ft from the ground. Investigators have also since recovered a black box recorder on Friday from the crash site, with forensic teams still looking for the second. Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood 'ready to support them' over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner. It comes as an aviation expert believes the co-pilot on Air India flight AI171 pulled the plane's wing flaps instead of retracting the landing gear, causing the plane to crash. Commercial airline pilot and YouTuber Captain Steve, who analyzes plane crashes and close calls, said he suspected there had been a simple error in the cockpit when the co-pilot was asked to retract the landing gear, with devastating consequences. He said: 'Here's what I think happened, again folks this is just my opinion. I think the pilot flying said to the co-pilot said 'gear up' at the appropriate time. Little left: Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies at the site where the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12 Destroyed: The tail of the Dreamliner plane that crashed, hitting buildings in a residential area Aircraft's wheels: Remnants of the fuselage and the landing gear were seen dangling through a gaping hole in the side of what appeared to be a canteen, with half-finished plates of food clearly visible on benches inside 'I think the co-pilot grabbed the flap handle and raised the flaps, instead of the gear. If that happened, this explains a lot of why this airplane stopped flying.' Steve said that the flaps being raised would cause the flight to lose airspeed and altitude quickly, something he thinks the pilot would have struggled to control. He explained his theory by saying the 787's composite wings would normally bend during take off as lift forces take it into the air. But the Air India plane appears to show no such bending, amid widespread speculation the flaps which help lift the plane off had accidentally been retracted. It remains unclear what caused Thursday's tragedy, with mechanical failure or pilot error among the possible causes that investigators will now work to identify. Among those believed to have died is Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot operating the Boeing 787. Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of experience, was named as the pilot of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Daily Mirror
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Tragic last photo of newlywed Brit with mum before doomed Air India flight
Brit Lawrence Daniel Christian, 26, took a heartbreaking final photo with his mum outside the airport before he boarded the doomed Air India flight that took his life A recently married British man, who travelled to India after his dad died, posed for a heartbreaking final photo before he boarded the doomed Air India flight. Lawrence Daniel Christian, 26, took a picture with his mum, Raveena, outside Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday just before he boarded the aircraft bound for Gatwick Airport. 241 passengers onboard were killed when the plane tragically crashed and fireballed into a medical college hostel just minutes after take off. Only one passenger unbelievably walked away from the tragedy alive, as at least 270 bodies have been recovered from the crash site so far. Lawrence had boarded the Boeing Dreamliner to go back to his home in London, where he lived with his newlywed wife. His aunt, who was not named, spoke to local media and said: "We tried calling him repeatedly after seeing the news. "We rushed to the plane crash site and saw the plane completely destroyed. We lost Lawrence Christian in this crash, just days after we lost his father." A family friend in the UK said his widow was heartbroken by the tragedy. The friend said: "She keeps saying this must be a mistake." It is believed Lawrence had lived in the UK for around 18 months before his tragic death. This horrific tragedy has also left two young British girls orphaned after their dad, who had travelled to India to scatter his late wife's ashes, died on the flight. Arjun Patolia had been visiting the north Indian city of Amreli to fulfil his wife's final wish and scatter her ashes in a local river. His wife Bharati had died just seven days earlier in London and the air disaster has left their eight and a four year old daughters, who are living in London, without parents. An "angel" NHS nurse working in a UK hospital was also named as a victim on the tragic flight. Renjitha Gopakumaran, who was working at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, had been returning to the UK after a holiday to see family in her home country. Her colleagues at the NHS hospital paid tribute to the mother and said she was a "beautiful lady" who showed her patients and co-workers "so much love and care". Renjitha, said to be in her 40s, "had the biggest heart and brightest smile", one colleague said. She reportedly had two children in India and was in the UK completing her degree as part of a five-year sabbatical. The deadly crash also killed several people on the ground. At least eight deaths have been confirmed, and authorities in Ahmedabad said four of those victims were medical students living in one of the buildings into which the plane crashed.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
U.S. officials survey Air India crash site, families continue to wait for bodies
AHMEDABAD, India, June 15 (Reuters) - Officials from the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. representative for providing assistance, while the FAA provides technical support. Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab 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.
