How Air India flight 171 crash unfolded on ground
A satellite image shows the location of the site where Air India flight 171 crashed near Ahmedabad airport in western India on June 12
A visual journey through the crash site of Air India flight 171
By , Arathy J Aluckal, Han Huang, Adolfo Arranz and Sudev Kiyada
Published
The preliminary report into the June 12 Air India crash near Ahmedabad, released a month later, not only detailed some of the flight's final moments but also mapped how the wreckage spread across 37,000 square meters and where key parts of the aircraft were found.
The report said the aircraft began losing altitude even before it cleared the airport boundary, after its fuel control switches shifted from 'run' to 'cutoff' mode, almost instantly cutting off fuel to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 people.
For the next 29 seconds, the aircraft continued to descend, gliding over densely populated neighborhoods on the outskirts of the airport.
Just 32 seconds after take-off, and only 1.6 kilometres from the end of the runway, the Air India flight crashed into hospital buildings.
Chimney
As the aircraft lost altitude, it first struck several trees and an incineration chimney, according to the investigation report.
Just 89 metres after first hitting the trees, the aircraft struck the northwest wall of this building.
The aircraft was level, with its nose likely pitched upward, when it struck the building, the probe report said.
The first building the aircraft struck was severely damaged.
The tail section of the aircraft was found embedded in the building's northeast wall and was later moved to the ground.
The right-hand main landing gear was found embedded near the tail section.
The aircraft's right engine was found resting beneath a concrete water tank on the building's rooftop.
One of the two flight data recorders, located in the rear section of the aircraft, was recovered here a day after the crash.
The inboard section of the right wing was recovered near this area.
The vertical stabilizer and rudder separated from the fuselage and came to rest approximately 61 metres south of the initial point of contact with the first building.
Parts of the aircraft were found much beyond the first building it struck, having impacted four additional buildings within the compound.
These buildings sustained significant structural and fire damage.
The nose landing gear was located on the ground at this spot.
The left main landing gear and the outboard section of the left wing struck this building.
The left engine separated from the aircraft and struck the north corner of this building at ground level.
The aircraft's center fuel tank was found at this location.
The outer section of the right wing was found on the road, outside the building compound.
The inboard section of the left wing was found here.
The second flight data recorder, located in the forward section of the aircraft, was recovered here four days after the crash.
The cockpit of the aircraft was found at this location.
The sole survivor of the crash, 41-year-old Viswashkumar Ramesh, was seen in a widely circulated video walking out of the compound through this gate — approximately 230 metres from the aircraft's initial point of impact with the first building.
The probe report said the fuselage of the aircraft fragmented and sustained thermal damage as it traveled along the five buildings. The furthest debris was found about 300 metres away from the trees the aircraft first collided with.
Site where the Air India flight 171 crashed. Pictures by: Amit Dave and Adnan Abidi (Reuters)
India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is leading the investigation into the crash. A final report is expected within a year.
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Amit Dave and Adnan Abidi (Reuters); India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau
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Scottish Sun
5 hours ago
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Brit survivor of Air India disaster tormented by nightmares where ‘everyone dies' and ‘won't speak' about horror crash
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AIR India's sole crash survivor has nightmares where "everyone dies," and won't speak about the horror he went through, his family said. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, walked away with cuts and chest injuries after the Boeing 787 slammed into a residential building in Ahmedabad, India. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 10 Vishwash Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India crash, posing for the first time since the disaster Credit: Dan Charity 10 Vishwash crawled through a hole in the wreckage and walked to an ambulance Credit: Reuters 10 Vishwash Ramesh is in a hospital a mile from where Air India flight 171 crashed Credit: HT Photo Despite being dubbed the "miracle man" and a "symbol of hope" in the country, the Brit still lies tormented by grief and survivor's guilt. His cousin Krunal Keshave, 24, from Leicester, says he manages to sleep, but not properly. He told The Sunday Times: 'When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight. 'He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.' Vishwash decided to stay in India to recover at his family home in Bucharwada hamlet in Diu, instead of going back to London or Leicester. He had been sitting in seat 11A, next to an emergency exit, and managed to crawl out through a hole in the twisted wreckage. His brother Ajay, 35, who was on the opposite side of the aisle in seat 11J, was among the 241 passengers who perished. 'He sees him [Ajay] everywhere,' said Keshave. 'He speaks but he doesn't speak about the crash. His wife and his son [who is four] are there with him, supporting him. Air India captain 'deliberately cut off fuel while staying eerily calm before crash 10 'He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much. 'He is spending time at home with the family. He was living in the house in Diu with his brother before the crash.' The miracle survivor previously told The Sun he felt "terrible" that he couldn't save his brother is racked with remorse over his death. 'Everything was visible in front of my eyes when the crash happened. 'I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive,' Vishwash said. 'It's a miracle I survived. I am OK physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay. 'If we had been sat together we both might have survived. I tried to get two seats together but someone had already got one.' The pair had been returning to Leicester after the end of the fishing season at their family business in Diu. Their plan was simple: fly back to the UK on June 12 ahead of the monsoon. But the flight never made it. Moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, Flight AI171 lost altitude and smashed into a medical college hostel. A total of 241 passengers and crew plus 19 people on the ground were killed in the tragedy, including 52 Brits. The crash has become one of the deadliest involving British citizens in recent memory. Investigators are now zeroing in on a chilling twist in the cockpit. 10 Vishwash walked away from the disaster with just a few cuts and chest injuries Credit: Twitter 10 Thick black smoke rising from a residential area after Air India flight 171 crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12 Credit: AFP 10 The tail of Air India flight 171 after it crashed in a residential area near the airport Credit: AFP 10 Vishwash, left, and his brother Ajaykumar Ramesh, 35, had been in India on a business trip According to flight data reviewed by US investigators, captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, may have manually flipped the plane's guarded fuel cut-off switches — a move aviation experts say could only have been intentional. A preliminary summary of the black-box recording reportedly captures co-pilot Clive Kunder asking, 'Why did you cut off?', to which Sabharwal eerily replies, 'I didn't.' 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The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Brit survivor of Air India disaster tormented by nightmares where ‘everyone dies' and ‘won't speak' about horror crash
AIR India's sole crash survivor has nightmares where "everyone dies," and won't speak about the horror he went through, his family said. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, walked away with cuts and chest injuries after the Boeing 787 slammed into a residential building in Ahmedabad, India. 9 9 9 Despite being dubbed the "miracle man" and a "symbol of hope" in the country, the Brit still lies tormented by grief and survivor's guilt. His cousin Krunal Keshave, 24, from Leicester, says he manages to sleep, but not properly. He told The Sunday Times: 'When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight. 'He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.' Vishwash decided to stay in India to recover at his family home in Bucharwada hamlet in Diu, instead of going back to London or Leicester. He had been sitting in seat 11A, next to an emergency exit, and managed to crawl out through a hole in the twisted wreckage. His brother Ajay, 35, who was on the opposite side of the aisle in seat 11J, was among the 241 passengers who perished. 'He sees him [Ajay] everywhere,' said Keshave. 'He speaks but he doesn't speak about the crash. His wife and his son [who is four] are there with him, supporting him. 'He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much. 'He is spending time at home with the family. He was living in the house in Diu with his brother before the crash.' The miracle survivor previously told The Sun he felt "terrible" that he couldn't save his brother is racked with remorse over his death. 'Everything was visible in front of my eyes when the crash happened. 'I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive,' Vishwash said. 'It's a miracle I survived. I am OK physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay. 'If we had been sat together we both might have survived. 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A preliminary summary of the black-box recording reportedly captures co-pilot Clive Kunder asking, 'Why did you cut off?', to which Sabharwal eerily replies, 'I didn't.' But the switches were flipped off one second apart and then turned back on ten seconds later — too late to restart the engines. It comes after reports the captain made a haunting final remark to a security guard before leaving home on the day of the flight. In Vishwash's case, surviving has become its own form of torment. 'He feels guilty that he is the only one to have lived when everybody else, including his brother, died. It's a lot to live with,' another relative told The Sunday Times. 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'My family member is in there, my brother and he's burning to death. I have to save him,' he pleaded with emergency workers. Rescuer Satinder Singh Sandhu recalled: 'He was very disoriented and shocked and was limping. 'There was also blood on his face, but he was able to speak. 'He told the paramedics that he was flying to London when the plane fell and that he wanted to go back to save his family.' Doctors who treated him at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital said he was stable despite his physical wounds. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited him during his five-day stay in hospital before he was discharged and returned home. Vishwash has since returned to the family's coastal village of Diu, where he is trying to recover with the support of his wife Hiral, their young son, and his extended family. 9 9
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
'Miracle' British sole survivor of Air India crash is haunted by nightmares of the tragedy which killed 242 others and keeps 'seeing everyone die' in his dreams, family says
The British sole survivor of the horrific Air India crash is haunted by nightmares where he sees 'everyone die', his family have said. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, who was sitting in seat 11A, walked away with only cuts to his face and some chest injuries. He has been honoured as the 'miracle man', 'God's child', and a 'symbol of hope' by Indian media, and locals call him 'the man who cannot be killed'. But he is wracked with guilt as he faces the reality of being the only person out of 242 passengers and crew to survive the crash as the jetliner slammed into the ground and burst into flames. He struggles to sleep at night, according to a member of his extended family, Krunal Keshave, 24, from Leicester. 'He sleeps but doesn't sleep properly. When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight. He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.' The miracle survivor previously said he feels 'terrible' he could not save his brother Ajay, 35, and feels tormented with guilt over his death. The pair ran a fishing business in Diu, India and would live there during the fishing season - which begins in September and ends in May - then would return to Leicester for the off-season. 'He sees him speaks but he doesn't speak about the crash. He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much. He is spending time at home with the family. He was living in the house in Diu with his brother before the crash,' Krunal told The Sunday Times. Another relative said: 'He feels guilty that he is the only one to have lived when everybody else, including his brother, died. It's a lot to live with.' The 40-year-old told The Sun: 'It's a miracle I survived. I am OK physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay.' Vishwash had tried to book two seats next to each other on flight AI171, which crashed into a densely populated part of the city of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff. 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Emergency worker Satinder Singh Sandhu said: 'I walked nearer to Mr Ramesh, grabbed him by the arm and led him away to a waiting ambulance. 'I had no idea that he was a passenger on the plane and thought he was a resident of the hostel or a passer-by. 'He was very disoriented and shocked and was limping. There was also blood on his face, but he was able to speak. 'He told the paramedics that he was flying to London when the plane fell and that he wanted to go back to save his family.' Shortly after the tragic crash he told Indian media: 'I thought I would die. Everything happened in front of my eyes,' 'I don't know how I came out of it alive. I saw people dying in front of my eyes.' The crash was one of the deadliest plane accidents in terms of the number of British nationals killed. The aircraft struck a medical college hostel in a residential part of Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board, 52 of whom were British. 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In a preliminary summary of the exchange between pilots one asked the other why he moved the switches, while the other denied doing so. Air India said it 'stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI 171 accident'. A spokesman said: 'We continue to fully co-operate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.'
